UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 48) With the enforcement of the revised Civil Act in January 2008 which abolished the Family Head System, there have been significant changes in the individual's identity registration system. The Government distributed informational materials on the revised Civil Act and the country's changed identity registration system. Progress made on the implementation of the new system and remaining challenges were reviewed at various occasions in which relevant ministres and women's rights advocacy groups participated together. Provisions of other laws have been revised as required by the abolition of the Family Head System.

National Report:
Para 50) Domestic violence is prosecuted in accordance with the Criminal Act and the Special Act on Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence and Others, the latter of which stipulates imposing protective disposition on perpetrators of domestic violence for the purpose of change of environment and correction of behavior. The amendments of the Special Act in October 2011 grant emergency intervention authority to judicial public officers in order to ensure speedy protection of victims and allow victims to directly request protection to the court. Starting January 2012, sexual crimes, including rape, against family members are accommodated in the scope of domestic violence, making their victims eligible for the protective services provided to victims of domestic violence, which include counseling sessions, housing at shelters, assistance for medical care, and education for independence and rehabilitation. The amended Act on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims and Others effective from May 2012 gives police officers, when dispatched to the scene of domestic violence, the authority to enter and investigate the crime scene to protect victims. It enables effective early response by police officers against domestic violence. In addition, the Government stepped up its efforts to raise awareness of the fact that domestic violence is a crime that is punishable by law, not a private matter.

Para 75) Under the current criminal justice system, most sexual crimes, including any sexual crimes against children, juveniles under the age of 19, and persons with disabilities, are subject to investigation and prosecution. Only certain types of sexual crimes against adults, including rape and indecent assault, that do not accompany any physical injury, require complaints filed by the victims to be criminally investigated. Careful consideration of the protection of the victims' privacy shall be given to whether or not the requirement of filing complaints for sexual crimes against adults in order to be subject to criminal justice proceedings should be abolished.

National Report:
Para 50) The universal birth registration requires mandatory birth reporting upon the birth of a child. The birth of a child of foreign nationals born in the Republic of Korea shall be registered in accordance with the laws of their countries even in cases where the parents are undocumented migrants. Children born to refugees can be registered as foreigners if they submit birth certificate issued by a hospital. The Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relation was amended in May 2016 to allow a prosecutor or the head of a local government to report a child’s birth if the persons who are obligated to report fails to do and jeopardizes the child’s welfare.

UN Compilation:
Para 15) Noting the universal periodic review recommendation on a birth registration system, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the birth registration system failed to ensure universal and compulsory birth registration and that foreigners whose children had been born in the country were not able to register their children through the family register, although their children might receive a birth notification document from the hospital.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 23) JS2 stated that the Government has refused to register births of children of foreign nationals. The parents might register the birth of their child through the embassies of their countries. However, refugees were often reluctant to approach the embassies to register the birth of their child.