SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT

to the Republic of Korea Report

on the Implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of the Child

July 3 1995

Submitted by

KOREA NGOS COALITION FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

KOREA NGOS COALITION FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

ACRP Peace Education Center in Seoul

Center for Cooperative Daycare

Children's Library Study

Child Educare Action Campaign

Daycare Center Association in the Community

Democratic Legal Studies(DLSA)

Educational Group of Alternative Culture

Human Rights Committee National Council of Churches in Korea

Korean Teachers & Educational Workers' Union(K.T.U)

Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center

Korea Women's Associations United

Lawyers for a Democratic Society-Minbyun

Leftovers Mission

National Parents Association for Education

Parents Action for Humanist Education

Research & Institute of the Differently Abled Rights in Korea(RIDARIK)

'SARANGBANG' Center for Human Rights

Seoul Association of Learning Center

The Korea National committee of OMEP

The National Association of the Volunteer Groups

Yullin Gul Nanum Salm Teo

ABSTRACT/INTRODUCTION

We, Korea NGOs Coalition for the CRC, is submitting this 20 page supplementary report to the ROK government report. As the Korean government has committed itself to undertake necessary measures for the implementation of the CRC, there has been much progress in the rights of children. But the government report neither adequately explain what has been done nor suggest what should have been done for the full implementation of the CRC. Since it tends to concentrate on describing the policies, laws, programs, and service, it also falls short of addressing limitations and obstacles to the full implementation of the CRC. It thus does not accomplish what it is supposed to do.

The purpose of this report is to present the quality of implementation of the CRC within the Korean context. It is hoped to encourage government by presenting additional information, highlighting crucial issues, and providing recommendations. It is also hoped that this report in so doing signify the government's attempt to fully implement the CRC in the near future.

This report mainly consists of general comments, specific comments and recommendations. It starts with four general comments upon the implementation of the CRC in Korea. The first comment focuses upon the lack of the publicity, the second upon the ideological stumbling block the third and the fourth upon the structural problem.

1) The government, as its report had stated, still does not make a sufficient attempt to disseminate the CRC

2) The report does not set the plan to change the patriarchical ideology which defines child as a property of the parents in a way to seriously hinder the Korean society from implementing the CRC

3) The report does not recognize that a central government body is necessary to coordinate many government agencies working for the implementation of the CRC; and

4) The report does not acknowledge NGOs' independent role to play in implementing the CRC nor provide the way to collaborate with the NGOs.

The report then makes specific comments and recommendations. This part provides the qualitative and quantitative information to present the actual realization of the CRC. It also indicates the gap between enactment of the legislative and administrative measures and enforcement of them it also specifies the additional policies and measures necessary for the implementation of the CRC. The report also suggests recommendations.

This report follows each chapter and section of the government report to make the comparison easier. Omitting the chapters and sections which are not necessary, it starts with chapter 2. We hope this format does not cause any confusion to you.

CHAPTER 2 GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Issue 1

As it promised in its report to the U.N., the Korean government is not taking sufficient measures to publicize the Convention on Children's Rights to the Korean people. The government has instead abdicated its duty to publicize the Convention to the UNICEF Committee on Korea. The results of such publicity efforts are very limited.

Recommendation 1

The government should recognize its responsibility to publicize the Convention and immediately begin to actively publicize not only through government institutions and mass media, but also through educational and social groups.

Section 1. Measures to Integrate National Law and Policy with Provisions of the Convention

Issue 2

In disregard for the Convention, the government and society of Korea has not significantly changed its approach to children's issues. Under Korea's traditional patriarchal system, children have been and continue to be treated as "family property" or "that which belong to the parents." Such parental authority as promulgated by Korean society makes difficult any recognition of children as holders of rights, let alone establishment of legal, structural and administrative measures to realize such rights.

Recommendation 2

In order to fulfill the Convention, the government must give priority to and secure children's rights on an actual legal basis and thereby transform and improve traditional conceptualizations of parental authority.

Section 2. Mechanisms for Coordinating and Monitoring Implementation of the Convention

Issue 3

Currently, government management of children's rights, welfare, and education are dispersed among various government agencies. However, the lack of a controlling body to consistently monitor the government 's handling of these affairs greatly hinders determining the true status of the government 's non-compliance with the Convention

Recommendation 3

The government should unify the above affairs under a central managing body under the direct control of the President of Korea such as the Committee for the Rights and Welfare of Children and should establish sub-committees under local autonomous organizations.

Issue 4

Currently, government support for non-government organizations(NGO) on children's issues is limited to those which are cooperative with government. In addition, there has been almost no such support for progressive NGO's that are devoted to monitoring and improving children's rights.

Recommendation 4

It is essential that the government expand its support of NGOs working for children's rights.

CHAPTER 3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Section 2. The Best Interests of the Child

Issue 5

The government report states that every policy and law in Korea is geared toward securing first priority for the interests of children. In reality, however, the civil law does not recognize such rights for children. While the government claims that in January 1990 it revised the Family Law according to democratic principles, Article 909-1 of the Family Law reveals the true status of Children in Korea: " Minors shall submit to their parents' authority." The Child Welfare Act, passed on April 13, 1981, states that its objective is "to secure the welfare of children"(Article 1) and designates the responsibility of raising children in a healthy environment to not only parents but also the nation and local autonomous organizations. (Article 3-2) The government has attempted to avoid such responsibility under the theory of "those who receive should pay." For example, the Law on Child Care states that "expenses needed to raise a child are, in principle, the parents' burden."

Recommendation 5

The government needs to recognize the national level of responsibility in promoting child Welfare as mandated in the Convention and the Child Welfare Act, and it should revise the relevant laws and regulations accordingly,

Section 3. The Right to Life, survival and Development (Article 6)

Issue 6

Children's safety are seriously threatened in Korean daily life. The number one cause of death among children is death by "unexpected accident" such as traffic accidents. According to statistics published in 1989 on the causes of death in Korean over 45% of child deaths are caused by "unexpected accidents." By comparing that death rate, which is approximately four times higher than the national average of 11.9%, a 1992 figure, it is clear that children are not sufficiently protected in Korea. The high rate of child death from traffic accidents showes that Korean children's right to safe walk in safety is greatly threatened by automobile traffic.

Recommendation 6

There need to be measures to protect children in school areas from traffic accidents. Children should have the right to approach Korea's streets in safety.

Section 4. Respect for the Opinions of Children (Article 12)

Issue 7

Korean traditional thinking clashes with the concept of respecting a child's opinion, therefore massive effort is needed to improve this situation. The government report avoids any practical realization of this concept. In reality, a child's opinion is ignored within society, the schools and even the family. For example, in the dissolution of adoption there is no legal apparatus at all to hear a child's opinion regarding the matter. In school students are given no chance to plead their case prior to punishment.

Recommendation 7

The government, working with NGOs, should research and set up plans to enforce the provisions of this Article in Korean society.

CHAPTER 4 CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Section 3. Freedom of expression (Article 13)

Issue 8

The Korean education system, especially the system of cramming, makes the national development and free exchange of ideas for students virtually impossible. In Korea, those students who have special interest in social issues or participate in protest activities against the school are likely to be suspended or expelled from school. Decision-making around such punishment is generally made unilaterally by the principal and teachers, while students are given no opportunity to speak for themselves. There is no system of appeal in the disciplinary system either.

Section 4. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion (Article 14)

Issue 9

Although there has been considerable reform under the Kim Young Sam administration, there still remain legal restrictions on freedom of thought and conscience in Korea that affect its young people. For example, recently in 1994 members of a youth organization studying social issues were sentenced as guilty under the National Security law.

Issue 10

For students or their parents, there is no school choice at the elementary , junior high and high school levels; rather, the government assigns school placement according to residence districts. Included in that government assignment scheme are private schools established by religious foundations, so that if a child is assigned to a private religious school, he/she may not be able to freely practice his/her religion of choice.

Section 5. Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly(Article 15)

Issue 11

There is virtually no freedom of association and assembly for student in Korea. Student activities are all subject to approval by school authorities. Students are strictly forbidden from joining out-of-school activities, especially those sponsored by social issues organizations, while schools forcibly direct students to join government -sponsored activities, regardless of the students' wishes.

Section 6. Protection of Privacy (Article 16)

Issue 12

Students endure personal insult by teachers and school authorities daily. Teachers inspect students' personal belongings and even their underclothing with no notice or warrant. Open publication of test scores and no class allocation according to test scores also deprive students of privacy.

CHAPTER 5 FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE

Section 1. Parental Guidance and Responsibilities(Article 5 & 18)

Issue 13

Although Korea declares that the primary responsibility for child welfare shall be on parents, it has never provided a sufficient level of social welfare programs to help parents and family give proper care to children. Consequently, Korean government ignores the increasing need for child protection against the destruction of the family.

Issue 14

Provisions regarding parental authority in Civil Code define a child as a mere object which shall be obedient to parental authority. In other words, there are not legal provisions designed to protect children. For example, in the cases of divorce, adoption or dissolution of adoption, there is no legal protection for children. Some of those children face the danger of becoming children with no parental protection.

Recommendation 8

The government can do much to remedy the situation by equipping its policies and laws to sufficiently reflect the objectives of maintaining and strengthening the family. The following legislation is needed; 1) to legally implement a structured welfare service system to support the family structure; 2) in the case of divorce, to legally ensure that children of divorce will be guaranteed care by at least one of the parents as a legal precondition to divorce, and to assign social welfare organizations with the surveillance of those issues; and 3) to make more strict the legal requirements for adoptive parents and for the dissolution of adoption,

Section 2. Separation from parents (Article 9)

Issue 15

Article 924 of the Civil Code declared the loss of parental rights when the duty to protect a child's welfare has not been fulfilled. The effectiveness of the provision is doubtful, however, because there is no welfare service system to give medical treatment and social intervention for both abusive parents and abused children.

Issue 16

Article 837-2 of the Civil Code defines the right to a hearing. According to the courts' rulings on appointing parental rights and foster parents, a child has the right to such a hearing and the right to declare his preferences only if he/she is over 15 years of age, an unrealistically high age limit.

Recommendation 9

The age limit should be lowered considerably, given the education and maturity level of children today, as well as the changing economic, social and cultural environment.

Section 4. State Recovery of Child Care Expenses(Article 27-4)

Issue 17

Article 974 of the Civil Code provides that parents have the duty of providing expenses for child. In reality, however, the provision is ineffective; the child has no recourse when neglected since his legal representatives are the neglecting parents themselves.

Recommendation 10

The law should provide that government or local autonomous organizations representing the public can claim child-care expenses from those parents who neglect their parental responsibility.

Section 5. Children Deprived of a Family Environment(Article 20)

Issue 18

The number of children who grow up without a traditional family environment has increased as the divorce rate has increased. In 1992, there were some 57,000 divorces. Over the last twenty years, the divorce rate has almost quadrupled. The number of single-parent households has also increased approximately 3.6 times over the last fifteen years, and currently there are more than 1 million single-parent households. A 1993 statistics showes that there were some 7,322 children taking care of their families   by themselves, a 50% increase since eight years ago (Kukmin Daily News, May 14, 1995). Such increase is the result of an increase in runaway parents and single-parent families.

According to a 1994 survey by one church group one church group working for the disadvantaged children, of 100 broken families, thirty-seven children responded that their parents had run away when they were seven or eight years old or younger. Among the parents of these abandoned children, most were considered the first generation of the 1960s urban poor who themselves were deprived of education under poor family conditions. The loss of the nuclear family is thus being passed from generation to generation.

The loss of the nuclear family includes those children who run away from their families. According to 1993 statistics (Sekye Daily News, October 23, 1993), 63.4% of junior high school students felt the impulse to run away from their families. Among them, one in ten have actually tried running away. And more than half of teenage runaways first tried to run away from home when they were in elementary school. The average age of a first runaway experience is 12.8 years (Institute for Criminal Policy, June 30, 1992).

Recommendation 11

It is necessary to establish organizations providing various family support programs in order to prevent broken families. it is also necessary to establish recovery centers for runaways to help them go back to their own families.

Section 6. Adoption (Article 21)

Issue 19

There have been many problems in the Korean adoption system. The following recommendations should be reflected in the policy-making process on child adoption.

Recommendation 19

1. Adoption should be approved only after the adopting parent are investigated and educated by a legal institution.

Currently, adoption can be achieved simply by filing a report. The process should be changed so that an adoption institute investigates the eligibility of any foster of adopting parents, educates them, and only then grants approval for an adoption. Article 18-6 of the Child Welfare Act bans "any activity of a person or an institute, expect those who have the legal right to arrange adoption in exchange for compensation."

Article 34-4 provides that penalty for those who violate the above provision shall be "imprisonment for one year or less or 1 million Korean Won (equivalent of US＄ 1, 300) or less." These provisions, however, contradict the Amendment of the Special Adoption Act passed by the National Assembly in December 1994.

This legislation provides a penalty of "imprisonment of two years or less, or a fine of 5 million won (equivalent of US＄ 6,300) or less." It does not make sense that the same violation should have different penalties depending on the given law. There needs to be a single penalty provision that is harsh enough to prevent the illegal arrangement of adoption.

2. The rights of an adopted child to express his own opinion should be guaranteed.

It is unfair that a child under the age of 15 can be adopted with the agreement of his legal representatives regardless of the child's opinion. The age limit is underinclusive and should be lowered. Before the adoption of a child over three years of age is finalized, the child should be given time to adjust to the adoptive family and then a chance to give his opinion on the adoption.

3. The adopted child should have a right to know its original parents.

Children have the right to know their adopted status and birth parents if possible, thus the need to preserve birth records. Given Korean society's emphasis on bloodline and family registry, it follows that both birth and adoptive parents usually wish to keep secret any adoption in the family. Thus, more than 99% of adopted children are registered as birth children, which is illegal under current law and precludes the adopted children from exercising the right to know their birth parents. There should be a double birth registry system, under which an adopted child's birth family registration before adoption is kept in the custody of the family courts while he/she is registered in the adoptive family's registry.

4. Dissolution of adoption and lawsuits seeking confirmation of lack of blood relation should be banned.

In Korea, adoptive parents are allowed to file a lawsuit if they think that their adopted child has problems and that they want to dissolve the adoption, thereby relinquishing their responsibility to raise the child. The system does not consider the interests of the child, only the convenience of the adoptive parents. The system should be reformed so that such dissolution is not allowed until the child reaches the age of twenty, until which age the family should be guided by the court to resolve any problems within the family. However, the phenomenon of lawsuits under the Civil Code seeking confirmation of lack of blood relations presents a more urgent situation for children's rights. By simply filing the suit, dissatisfied adoptive parents are able to simply cut off all legal relationship with adopted children.

Section 8. Abuse and Neglect (Article 19); Physical and Psychological Recovery and Social Reintegration (Article 39)

Issue 20

Currently there are many cases of both physical and mental child abuse, which needs stronger laws, administrative procedures and supporting organizations to fight it.

Recommendations 12

1. Laws against child abuse should be strengthened.

Under the current version of the Child Welfare Act, legal protection for children against abuse is very minimal. Article 18-9 of this law is the only legal prohibition against " the abuse of a child under one's own protection or supervision." This provision does not go far enough to specify what constitutes abuse. Article 34-3 provides that anyone who violates Article 18-9" shall be punished with imprisonment for two years or less,  or pay 2 million won (equivalent to US＄ 2,500) or less, "neither of which are effective deterrents against child abuse.

Furthermore, there has never been an actual punishment on record for any violation of the above provision. The current version of the Child Welfare Act has no administrative orders, so that it has no enforcement mechanism at all. What is needed is a separate, comprehensive law against child abuse.

What legal ground there is to intervene in an abusive situation is very minimal. Article 18 of the Child Welfare Act states that government officials or committee members working in children's issues may "visit locations suspected of housing violations of Article 18 and question or interrogate the child or persons involved. " However, such officials may not actively intervene in the situation; if they took the child into custody and out of the abusive household, they have no legal standing and therefore would be charged with trespass or kidnapping. It must be noted that most physical abuse of children is conducted by family members. More than 70% of child sexual abuse cases are committed by family members, relatives or well-known persons.

Regarding physical punishment at school, Article 76 of the Education Law provides that "the principal of each school can punish or discipline students as needed." There have been six court actions dealing with violence by teachers against students.

Among those six, only one was successful (Article 78 of the Supreme Court, decision of March 14, 1978). There has even been a case of a gym teacher beating his student to death for missing a civil defense exercise. The teacher was not charged for homicide (Seoul High Court, decision of June 23, 1978)

2. There must be a reporting system for child abuse cases

The government should require systematic reporting of child abuse; in the alternative, Korea needs a confidential system operated on a national level. Korean may consider the other countries' model; The Confidential Doctors' Bureau in place in some European countries, such as the Netherlands; an entire governmental body in the United States which is responsible solely for dealing with child abuse in a comprehensive way, covering child abuse from the initial report to follow-up.

3. There must be proper psychological and physical recovery services for abused children to help the function in society.

Korea has such services only for the most serious of cases and on a temporary basis. The Association to Prevent Child Abuse receives reports of abuse, at which point the child is given temporary shelter at facilities like a Child Counselling Center or Children's House (There is at least one such facility in most cities) or is medically treated by the Association or at a hospital. This system needs to be more comprehensive, with legal support services and treatment for abusers as well as victims. A foster care system to help abused children return to society is also a necessary link in such a comprehensive system.

Section 9. Periodic Review of Placement (Article 25)

Issue 21

Most child welfare facilities in Korea are geared toward infants, therefore unequipped to deal with the varying needs of children of different ages.

Recommendation 13

There are no existing facilities to support adopted children or those with emotional needs. There is an urgent need for facilities to deal properly with various children's needs: runaway shelters, broken family care centers, drug rehabilitation facilities, abused children centers, etc.

Issue 22

Even those facilities existing for infant care do not properly perform their purported function. The government subsidizes such facilities according to the number of infants in their care; consequently, such facilities attempt to take in as many infants as possible.

In 1993, a given infant care center had an average of 59 infants, while child care centers have on the average 78 children on their rolls. Those numbers are much higher than comparable statistics in Japan in 1988; 23 infants or 50 children per center, on the average.

Issue 23

The government provides little more than superficial guidance and monitoring of child welfare facilities, where human rights are violated on a large scale. Sexual abuse, assault and battery, forced labor, verbal abuse, forcing parents to give up their children, seizure of financial support, etc., have been going on for the last ten years. The government has never exposed such activities through its own surveillance, and even when they are reported , the government has rarely taken remedial actions.

CHAPTER 6 BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

Section 2. Disabled Children (Article 23)

Issue 24

The first priority for disabled children is to figure out their exact population size in Korea. The government report estimates the number at around 100,000, or 0.76% of the total child population, an unrealistic guess, even if based on conservative research. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Welfare Research took a 1990 survey and reported that the birth rate of disabled children is 3.72%. Even the Education Ministry's annual report to the National Assembly estimates a figure larger than that of the government's report : 223,963 disabled children, or 2. 44% of the total child population (1994). As another reference point, it is useful to note that other organizations for the disabled estimate the figure to be 900,000 children, or 10% of the total child population of 9,178,811.

Recommendation 14

A regular census count of disabled children should underline all relevant government policies.

Issue 25

As stated in the government report, most disabled children are placed in adult facilities. Those facilities lack even basic professional services and funding so most patients are simply left there without any rehabilitation programs. Funding, meager as it is, comes almost completely from the government, and again is based on a headcount, resulting in overcrowded, poorly-serviced facilities.

Recommendation 15

Disabled children require separate placement that is tailored to the degree and type of disability as well as the age of the child. The facilities should be operated under professional rehabilitation experts who can provide real treatment for such children.

Issue 26

Korea lacks special education institutions for disabled children.  The 21st Century Committee, an advisory group to the President, estimates that only 12.6% of the total disabled child population receives special education (1994). Due to limited government funding, such institutions are poorly equipped and staffed. Efforts to integrate disabled children into the regular schools is also severely limited.

Recommendation 16

The government should expand the public special education institutions that meet the population need. At the primary level, they should be specialized according to need, and integrated at more advanced levels.

Issue 27

Current laws mandate that companies with more than 300 employees hire the disabled at a rate of 2% of total employees. However, the employment rate of the disabled in government organizations is a mere 0.71%. Other industries are worse offenders, hiring an average of only 0.42% disabled workers. According to government statistics, the overall unemployment rate in korea is at 2.1%, while that of the disabled is 32.6%. Most disabled workers (68.7%) are in manufacturing industries and are paid only US ＄ 250 to 500 per month, much lower than the average wage in those industries.

Section 3. Health and Health Services (Article 24)

The medical insurance system in Korea provides insufficient medical care coverage, leaving heavy personal expenses that are too burdensome for the poor to pay for proper medical care for their children. Furthermore, medical coverage in Korea does not cover ultrasound tests, CT (Computer Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) tests. There is no coverage for preventive medicine such as vaccination or physical check-ups. Hospitals needlessly use specialized medical consultation for which patients must pay, and hospitals make patients bear 55% of the cost of out-patient treatment, and over 50% for in-patient treatment. The aggregate of these facts demonstrate why poor families do not get proper medical care (Hankyureh News, January 15, 1995)

While it is possible to specialize in pediatrics in medical colleges, pediatricians per se are in reality only general practitioners who happen to treat children. In fact, most children in Korea are forced to see doctors who usually treat adults. Given the well-known fact of specific physical needs of children, pediatricians should be trained in all specialties specifically for child patients.

Section 4. Social Security and Child-Care Services and Facilities (Articles 18-3 and 26)

Issue 28

In Korea, government spending on social security is very minimal. According to a source countries, social security budgets average 10 to 20% of the GDP, compared to only 1.4% for Korea (IMF, 1991). Korea's overall welfare budget is only 63.8% of the IMF Standard, a rate lower than that of Bangladesh (12.3%) and Sri Lanka (18.6%). Most countries have a child allowance system that recognizes the need to protect the future through their children. Korea neither has nor plans to introduce such a system.

Issue 29

The government has been able to nurture the day care centers over the last four years since the passage of the Child Care Law in 1991. The national budget spent on child care increased 2.8 times over three years, from US ＄ 52 million in 1991 to 148 million in 1994. Meanwhile the government has reported that there were 1.03 million children needing day care in 1994, while only 219,000 received such care in 1994, while only 219,000 received such care at a 8,975 facilities, a mere 22% of children who need it.

The government takes very little responsibility for the burden of working mothers trying to care for their children. The government uses its own discretion in supporting child care programs, the result being an abundance of private day care and little publicly-funded care. Due to a lack of after-school programs, children receive inadequate care-less than 1% of school children receive institutional care.

A major hindrance to effective government-sponsored day care is its current structure around ease of administration, not around the interests of children. Availability of services is concentrated in big cities, so that mid-to-small size cities and rural areas do not have access. The government persists in promulgating parental self-sufficiency in child-care- thus the emphasis on private, not public, care. There is no unified source of governmental financial support, and low quality control for child care. Finally, government-sponsored child-care is not diversified enough to meet the diverse demands of infant care, care of the disabled, and extended care.

Recommendation 17

The government needs to actively change its focus away from administrative ease to children's rights, reform the system and sufficiently fund its child-care program.

CHAPTER 7 EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Section 1. Education (Article 28)

Issue 30

Although the number of students in one class has been decreasing, the average class size is still not adequate; in 1994, the average size was 37.7 students for an elementary school class, 48.9 junior high school students and 47.4 high school students (Handbook of Education Statistics, National Institute for Education Evaluation). Educational deficiencies follow from overcrowded classrooms as well as oversized schools, another common phenomenon, due to lack or resources and space.

A. Problems according to school level

1) Elementary School

Issue 31

The two-shift system persists in Korea and infringes on certain educational rights. Although on the decrease, there are still 1,027 first-grade classes, 643 second-grade classes and 125 third-grade classes that operate on the two-shift system, an unstable educational environment.

Issue 32

In rural areas, merger and abolition of small schools is proceeding according to a government plan to decrease the number of small-size schools nationwide by 10% by the year 1995. The government is thereby sacrificing the right to an equal education in the name of efficiency. In the Gapyung area west of Seoul, residents filed a suit against the closing of the Doomil School and protested for over a year by conducting their own classes with residents serving as teachers.

Issue 33

The government pays for school meals at the elementary school level. As of November 1994 only 38.2% of elementary schools were providing school meals. President Kim vowed during his campaign to expand school meals to all elementary schools by 1997, but then backpedaled, revising the law so that parents, especially those in the poor and rural area, shoulder that burden of providing the expanse of facilities.

2) Junior and Senior High Schools

Issue 34

Life in secondary schools is quite restricted, akin to the military. The first priority is always advancement to the next level and this priority is used to keep rigid rules that are very strict and undemocratic. Infringement of human rights is common: unfair punishment, assaults, insults. Discipline is based mainly on penal measures to isolate so-called troublemakers, not on reasonable counselling. Juvenile delinquency results directly from this system. In Korea a student has no right to a hearing before punishment, in direct violation of Article 12 of the Convention. And there is little means to prevent student drop-out caused by severe punishment or lack of school performance.

Poor facilities are basic insults to human dignity: small classrooms, undersized desks and chairs, unsanitary toilet facilities, a lack of welfare facilities.

3) Pre-school

Issue 35

In Korea, 78% of all kindergartens are privately-run, profit-making ventures. As pre-school education is not included in public education system, children in the poor and rural area cannot afford it.

4) Vocational Education

Issue 36

Vocational schools are conceived mainly as a dumping ground for students who have dropped out of the regular system. They are poorly equipped with outdated facilities, and appear to be merely a means to exploit cheap labor. For example, agricultural school students practice farming, but the school sells the harvest and is allotted its budget for the upcoming school year according to its harvest sales performance--a self-perpetuating system of exploitation.

5) Remedial Education (152-154)

Issue 37

Remedial schools exist for those students whose educations were held back by economic troubles. Successful to date, these schools give hope to troubled youth, and supplement the regular school system. There is now movement by the government and concerned industries to close them down. Of the current 31 schools nationwide of 336 classes, eight will be closed down in the two years.

B. Education Budget (155)

Issue 38

Korea's educational budget, 3.6% of the GNP, falls short of other countries, both industrialized and not. The natural outcome is a heavy private economic burden--the total private expenditure on education is US＄22.6 trillion, and an individual household spends an average of 30% of its budget on education (Statistics from Korea Educational Development Institute, 1994).

Section 2. Educational Goals

Issue 39

The stated goal of Korea's educational system is "devotion to the welfare of mankind," a goal blocked by the cramming system geared toward college entrance exam. The system kills creativity and individuality in youth. Those not deemed eligible for college fall behind and into misconduct, or at worst, commit suicide. The government announced educational reform on May 31, 1995 and must fulfill its promise.

Recommendations 18

1. The arbitrary entrance exam system, first on the reform list, is the source of most of the country's educational problem.

2. The educational budget needs to be increased to 5% as promised by President Kim's campaign.

3. Working conditions for teachers need improvement.

Teachers need to be freed from long teaching schedules and administrative tasks so that they may concentrate their efforts into teaching.

4. Students need to be given more self-determination in decision-making that concerns them.

5. Students deserve a fair hearing both before and after punishment. There needs to be guidance, counseling and special activities for those who are disciplined so that discipline is a learning, not merely a penal, experience.

6. Students need to be informed of their rights in school so that they can exercise such rights independently.

Section 3. Leisure, Recreation and Culture

(Articles 17 and 31)

Issue 40

Leisure, recreation and cultural activities for children are severely limited by the entrance exam orientation of the education system. Most children spend their time in private institutes or lessons after school. According to a survey by Hankyureh News in 1995 of 600 elementary school students in the Seoul area, 79.6% go to private institutes or are privately tutored. In response to the question "What would you like to do if your parents allowed it?" 41.7% responded "Just play."

In response to the question "What are you worried about now?" 53.4% answered "exam results." Children cannot simply be children in Korea. High school students suffer unstable emotions and pressure. Among junior and senior high school students, 44% experienced anxiety about exams and accompanying bodily symptoms.(Survey of the Juvenile Counselling Forum, November 1993).

Recommendation 19

The government should reform education so that children can enjoy leisure, recreation and cultural activities.

Issue 41

There are not enough facilities for children to play and take part in leisure activities. It is even worse in urban poor and rural areas. There are privately-operated non-profit organizations sponsoring after-school study rooms in Seoul for the children of low-income families. According to a survey of 940 children, none had ever had any private music or art lessons. Almost none ever go to music concerts, recitals, plays, operas or puppet shows with parents or friends. Children over 14 years would rather go to adult establishments such as karaoke houses, coffee shops, drinking bars, video parlors, and pool halls.

(Report of Environmental Surveillance Team of Y.W.C.A. Against Harmful Environment for Youth, August 27, 1994).

Recommendation 20

There is minimal investment in cultural appreciation for children, as the government report states. The government and local autonomous organizations should develop diverse programs for children to enjoy proper leisure, recreation, and cultural activities. They should also invest in space and facilities for such cultural events. Laws should be revised to financially support cultural facilities of privately-operated non-profit facilities such as the above.

Issue 42

There are not enough spaces that foster reading in children. In 1990, there were some 100 million books published for children: 48% of them were reference books and comic books. (Status of children in Korea and the prospects for the year 2000, Sunshim Kim, Jungin Hahm, p.15). Only 47% (4,893) of high schools in Korea have their own libraries. School libraries in Korea have three books per student; there are 1,881 students per library (Seoul Daily News, August 1992). In 1992, the government budget for books represents only 0.066% of the total educational budget.

Issue 43

There are serious harmful effects from violent and sexualized movies, dramas, pornography, video games and computer software. According to statistics on exposure of juveniles to such material, 53% of the students sampled had experienced such material through computers and 63.6% did by video tapes (Y.W.C.A. public hearing on regulation to restrict material harmful to youth, Junho Kim, October 1994, pp. 14-16).

Recommendation 21

Korean government should strengthen the function of an agency to protect children from harmful audio-visual materials. At the same time, there must be media education in schools.

Chapter 8  SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES

Section 1.  Children in Conflict with the Law ( Articles 37, 39, and 40 )

Issue 44

Juvenile crimes, as stated in the government report, should be dealt with based on the principle of "education rather than punishment," and "separate justice for juveniles," These important principles have not be implemented properly.

Issue 45

Most juvenile criminals are interrogated under confinement. In 1993 alone, there were a total of 119, 286 juvenile crime cases, 21,850 of which let to arrest and process in the general criminal courts, while 48,078 were prosecuted. Only 12,365 cases were forwarded to the juvenile department (Grand Prosection, 1993, 555-556)

Issue 46

A juvenile who is arrested and detained for his crime is totally vulnerable to other bad influences while under detainment. In 1993 there were 23,256 juvenile crime cases, from which 4,119 led to a prison sentence, 5,734 to probation, and 11,037 to processing in the juvenile department ( Court Adminstration, 1994, 479, 956 ).

The average length of an initial trial is 2.9 months before a panel of judges and 2.3 months before a single-judge court. After the second trial, which took an average of 2.7 months, 806 cases received probation and 1,543 were forwarded to the juvenile department ( Court Adminstration, 482 ). For the first trial sentence, typically juvenile stay at a detention center for two to three months, sometimes up to six months. If the suspect is not released by the first court, he/she is detained. In detention, juveniles are subject to influence by other criminals. Separation of juvenile criminals from adult criminals is urgently needed. Article 57 of the Juvenile Law provides for such separate proceeding, but the courts have ignored those provisions.

Recommendation 22

The following procedures should be adopted to solve the above problem:

1. Pre-trial determination of juvenile status. The courts, instead of the prosecution, should determine whether a case is sent to the prosecution as a general criminal case or processed instead through juvenile protection proceedings:

2. Juvenile should be confined at a juvenile detention center or already-existing juvenile houses separately from general criminals;

3. All juvenile proceeding should be closed to the public;

4. The court should ensure speedy trials;

5. Jubenile criminal cases should be minimized in favor of juvenile protection cases;

6. Juvenile, more vulnerable than adults, must be granted counsel by an attorney or other assistant during interrogation. Presently, the court will appoint a lawyer only after prosecution begins. Attorney representation should be extended to juvenile protection cases.

Section 2.  Children under Exploitation (Article 32)

A. Economic exploitation (Article 32)

Issue 47

Under the Labor Standards Law, the government prohibits child labor. The law applies only to companies with a minimum of five employees, and fails to protect from exploitation children who work for companies with less than five employees.

Recommendation 23

The Labor Standard Law should protect all children from economic exploitation.

B. Drugs (Article 33)

Issue 48

Drug abuse among youth is not yet a serious problem in Korea, but there are a considerable number of cases youths overdosing on medicine or inhaling hallucinogenic chemicals.

Recommendation 24

Drug abuse is so easy for youth because medicine does not require a prescription to purchase at the drug store, a situation that must be changed through a prescription system.

There need to be more public facilities for treatment of drug abusing youth at little or no cost.

C. Sexual Abuse ( Articles 19, 34, and 39 )

Issue 49

According to a 1990 study on sexual assault conducted by the Research Institute for Criminal Policy, 6.5 % (or 146 of 2,262) of the women surveyed who had been sexually assaulted had been sexually abused as a child. Sexual abuse of children accounts for about 29.4 % of sexual abuse cases reported to the Counseling Center for Sexual Assaults.

Victims range in age from infancy to adults still suffering from the mental effects of childhood assaults. 75.2 % of such victims know their assailants. Among those assailants, 60.6 % are neighbors, teachers, or friends' fathers, while 39.4 % are family members or relatives such as fathers, stepfathers, brothers, cousins, uncles or grandfathers.

25.6 % of all child sexual abuse cases are committed by underage assailants. The government report does not mention the sexual assaults against children at all.

It does not mention the enactment of the Special Law on Sexual Assaults, either.

Issue 50

The law provides that if the victim of a sexual assault is a child, he/she cannot file a suit without a legal representative. If the assailant is the child's legal representative (ie., father or head of institution if an abused child is under his custody), then the victim's family, relatives or a third party testifying to the case can file a suit. If the assailant is the father, the mother would be the legal representative, but if she does not want to see the destruction of her family or she is unable to financially support her family herself, it is almost impossible for her to file suit. The provision makes difficult, if not impossible, pursuit of proper legal action against sexual assault.

Even doctors, who are supposed to diagnose and treat sexually-abused children, try to avoid issuing their notes as evidence to avoid getting involved in a long and complicated legal process.

Recommendation 25

People of many professions have frequent opportunity to face abused children:

pediatricians, teachers, clergypersons, counselors, policemen, social workers, psychiatrists, and so on. There should be legal grounds for them to report either suspected or definite cases of abuse to the police, and to provide support during the course of interrogation or court trial. There needs to be more private and public organizations established to study sexual assault and abuse cases and to work on prevention and handling of such cases.

Korean education should include sex education for children so that they can recognize abuse, as well as social education programs for parents and teachers.

Issue 51

While the government report mentions the provision for the assailant, it does not explain the care for the abused children.

Recommendation 26

Government-sponsored rehabilitation and counseling programs are needed to help the child victims, their parents and other people suffering from the mental effects of abused childhoods, etc.

Issue 52

Article 159 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that a person under age sixteen is incompetent to take a legal oath. The article also provides that if a child is strong enough, both physically and mentally, to endure the proceedings, he/she may take the witness stand, but the court has final say as to whether such testimony will be accepted or not.

In many cases, the basis for a rejection of child testimony is unclear as to whether it was not conclusive or contradicted. (34)

Recommendation 27

Children are the key witnesses in sexual abuse cases. Under proper court supervision, a child deserves the chance to explain the facts of his/her case and to secure his/her right against self-incrimination. The method of capturing testimony can also be tailored to the situation such as voice recording, written letter, or videotape. In the case of cross examination of an abuser, the court can hear both sides separately in a closed courtroom to protect the victim from further reminders of his/her frightening experience.

Issue 53

It is illegal for minors to work in adult entertainment or prostitution, but the laws against such trades must be more strictly enforced. (202, 203, 204, 205)