Democratic Party Lawmaker First Introduces "Equality Act" in 22nd Assembly: "Focus on Corrective Measures and Victim Remedies, Not Punishment"

Imprisonment and fines removed from the 21st National Assembly bill

Addressing Christians who oppose the Equality Act

"No one will go to prison because of this law"

Park Jumin, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, sponsored a bill on Nov. 9 that would prohibit discrimination based on gender, disability, age, origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and other grounds. The bill, titled the Bill on Equality (Equality Act), places greater emphasis on correcting discriminatory practices and providing remedies to victims than on punishment.

Speaking at a news conference that day at the National Assembly Communication Center, Park said, "I participated as a co-sponsor in the 20th National Assembly and sponsored a bill myself in the 21st National Assembly, but we ultimately failed to pass it. So this time, we want to try to get it passed for real, and are seeking to reintroduce it in the 22nd National Assembly."

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Jumin asks a question during a parliamentary audit of the National Election Commission held at the National Assembly on the 7th of last month. Photo by Yoon Dongju

The Equality Act proposed in the 22nd National Assembly prohibits treating people unfavorably without reasonable grounds in four areas—employment, goods and services, education, and administration—on the basis of gender, disability, age, place of origin, educational background, sexual orientation and other grounds. It also stipulates that cases involving two or more overlapping grounds for discrimination are to be assessed together.

One difference between this bill and the version proposed in the 21st National Assembly is that it contains no criminal penalties. Park said, "We removed punitive damages. We changed the penalties of imprisonment and fines for retaliatory acts to administrative fines. We also added a provision requiring the return of enforcement fines if a corrective order is revoked." He added, "As a result, there is not a single line in this bill providing for criminal penalties. It is not right to have criminal penalties discourage people from doing various things."

Addressing Christians who strongly oppose the Equality Act, Park said, "I also grew up in a Christian family that has never held ancestral rites," adding that he did not take Christians' concerns lightly. He said, "The Equality Act contains no provision regulating sermons from the pulpit. No one will go to prison because of this law."

Park expressed his determination to pass the bill, saying, "During the 21st National Assembly, we had already reached the stage of holding a public hearing, even if it was only at the subcommittee level of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. It is not as though there is no foundation to build on."

Also attending the news conference in solidarity were Jung Hyejin, executive committee chair of the Network of Christians Seeking an Equal World Without Discrimination and Hatred; Yang Yi Hyeongyeong, standing representative of Korean Women's Associations United and co-representative of the Solidarity for Enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Law; and Jang Y예정, co-executive chair of the Solidarity for Enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Law.

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