[Second Half Work Report] Disclosure of Gender-Based Wages...Seeking Measures to Eradicate Illegal Malicious Sites

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Mid-Year Policy Report: Toward a Gender-Equal Government
In-depth Analysis of 34,000 Illegal Video Distribution Sites
AI Gender Equality Guidelines and Legislative Action on Gender-Based Violence

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is moving to establish the legal framework for implementing the “Equal Employment Disclosure System” targeting large corporations. The ministry also plans to expand its free sanitary pad distribution program to public facilities nationwide next year, and is pursuing a system in which the Minister of Gender Equality and Family can directly request telecommunications service providers to block sites that refuse to remove, or repeatedly post, illegal videos.

Won Minkyeong, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, visited Eunpyeong Tongil-ro Sports Center in Seoul on the 14th to inspect the operation status of the pilot project for public sanitary pad support, "Everyone's Sanitary Pads." 2026.7.14 Yonhap News Agency

On July 16, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held its 2026 second-half departmental work report at the Blue House State Guest House. This work report focused on reviewing plans to deliver policy outcomes that citizens can experience in their everyday lives, especially in the second half of the year.

Rollout of Gender Balance Policies... Tackling Gender Bias in AI

To realize a “Gender Equal Government,” the ministry will strengthen its gender equality policy governance. The Gender Equality Committee (headed by the Prime Minister) will be enhanced to function as a control tower, with the addition of a policy recommendation authority. This will allow the committee to make formal recommendations on key gender equality policies in each ministry and help drive policy improvements at relevant agencies—a legislative initiative that will require amending the Framework Act on Gender Equality.

To ensure that policy development reflects gender-specific characteristics, the ministry plans to expand the number of government departments with dedicated gender policy offices from the current 9 to a total of 24. The additional departments to be included are: the Ministry of Economy and Finance; the Ministry of Science and ICT; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Unification; the Ministry of the Interior and Safety; the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries; the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; the Ministry of Planning and Budget; the National Heritage Administration; the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency; and the Korea Coast Guard.

Research is underway to address gender bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. With 37.3% of all public institutions currently deploying or using AI-based recruitment systems, there is growing demand for effective countermeasures against gender bias. The ministry is developing AI gender equality guidelines and conducting research to design and build recruitment-related AI datasets to measure the degree of bias by gender, age, educational background, work experience, and related factors.

Furthermore, based on the outcomes of the “Everyone’s Sanitary Pads” pilot project launched this month, the program will be scaled up nationwide next year. To improve user accessibility, the ministry also plans to establish a public-facing website and a centralized management system. As of now, 13 million public sanitary pads have been installed primarily in public facilities managed by 12 basic local governments and in high-traffic locations.

Background of the Introduction of the Equal Employment Disclosure System (Source=Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, AI Created)

Disclosure of Employment and Wage Information...Pursuing the Equal Employment Disclosure System

To tackle the persistent issue of the gender wage gap, the ministry will push for the introduction of the Equal Employment Disclosure System. The goal is to have companies transparently disclose gender-specific employment and wage information to improve gender equity in the labor market. The ministry plans to prepare the legal ground for this by amending the Framework Act on Gender Equality in the second half of this year. Initially, the system will apply to large corporations and public institutions, but the range of companies covered will gradually be expanded.

The items to be disclosed include: ▲Number of male and female employees by job category, position, and type of employment ▲Number of male and female managers and executives ▲Average length of service by gender and employment type ▲Average and median wage ratios by gender and employment type ▲Proportion by gender in each wage quartile ▲Status of gender-specific use of parental leave, among others. The specific items and scope of disclosure may change during the National Assembly’s legislative review process.

To ensure the disclosures lead to practical improvements in gender equity, the ministry is reviewing support measures such as providing expert consulting and offering additional incentives during government project bids or awards for exemplary companies.

Tougher Penalties for Illegal Harmful Sites and Dating Violence

The government will also step up its response to digital sexual crimes, such as deepfakes and sexual exploitation material, through enhanced interagency cooperation. Through the Digital Sexual Crime Victims Support Task Force—which includes the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the National Police Agency, and the Korea Communications Commission—the government is analyzing around 34,000 illegal video sharing sites regarding the locations of their servers, revenue structures, and the legal status of their activities.

The ministry is considering formalizing a ban on advertising to cut off the main source of revenue for these illegal harmful sites. It is also reviewing a legal revision to make the act of establishing such sites an independent crime, so that site operators can be prosecuted as primary offenders, not just as accomplices.

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is speaking at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on July 14, 2026. Photo by the Blue House Press Photographers Team, Yonhap News Agency

With the number of reported dating violence and stalking incidents having risen by approximately 40% over the past three years, the ministry will also increase efforts to respond to intimate partner violence and protect victims. In consultation with the Ministry of Justice and other agencies, it plans to prepare revisions to the Stalking Punishment Act to explicitly define controlling behaviors in relationships as a type of stalking offense.

For the first time, the ministry will conduct a “Case Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence Fatalities” to comprehensively analyze the causes and response process in cases of death from relationship violence, identify legal and institutional gaps, and develop measures to prevent recurrence.

Additionally, support for victim recovery programs will be expanded (from 17 locations this year to 27 next year), as will the supply of rental housing (from 364 units this year to 384 next year). The ministry plans to produce and promote “Red Flag 10,” a campaign to raise early awareness of high-risk indicators for stalking and dating violence and to encourage prompt reporting and consultation to prevent harm.

Strengthening Support for At-Risk Youth and Single-Parent Families...Debate Over Mifegyne Surfaces

For at-risk youth, the ministry will use AI to detect early warning signs of suicide and drug use, and will introduce an integrated management system for the 1388 counseling hotline to improve its response capability. For single-parent families, the ministry will ease the criteria for advance payment of child support (removing the previous threshold of 150% or less of median income), expand housing support, and increase public-private partnerships to help ensure the stability of vulnerable unmarried and single parents.

To promote a better work-family balance, the goal is to certify 7,300 family-friendly companies this year. The ministry intends to increase incentives and improve certification criteria to encourage even more companies to adopt family-friendly management.

Meanwhile, as President Lee Jae-myung recently mentioned the use of the abortion medication “Mifegyne,” the legislative gap regarding abortion has also become a task for the ministry. Although the Constitutional Court ruled the abortion law unconstitutional in 2019, no follow-up legislation has been enacted since then.

Commenting on this, Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated, “We will actively communicate with relevant ministries and agencies to reduce the confusion and anxiety in the field regarding abortion that has persisted since the Constitutional Court’s decision of unconstitutionality.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.