Pro-Woman Law Up for Strikeout
The Ministry of Gender Equality, the government's key promoter of women's rights, has submitted to the Constitutional Court its opinion that the existing law punishing men for luring women to have sex with them under the false promise of getting married is against the spirit of the basic law.
It is the first time that the ministry has revealed its official stance on this issue and has taken many by surprise because the law is often regarded as a key legal protection for women.
The ministry took issue with some of the wording of the law as the basis for its objection.
The law as stipulated in the country's criminal code states, "Men may be punished by a maximum prison term of two years or a maximum fine of 5 million won for luring chaste women to have sex with them through false promises of marriage or other deceptions."
The part the ministry specifically objects to refers to is "chaste women," saying that it carries implications of sexual discrimination.
The ministry also added that the concept of the law runs the risk of perpetuating the stereotype that women don't possess the ability to make decisions using their own free will.
"In the United States and Germany, for example, there is a clear tendency to bring the sense of equality and revise anti-rape laws by no longer defining women as sole victims. Women are replaced by persons in these countries' laws," a ministry spokesman said.
"Chastity is expected not just from women but also from men," he said, explaining that the law as it is, sees women as the only gender that should abide by chastity.
The ministry's opinion comes at a time when the Constitutional Court is scheduled to hold an open hearing on a petition filed by a man who has been accused of having sex with a female colleague on four occasions after he promised to introduce her to his parents, a usual part of marriage protocols.
In its July 2002 ruling, the court supported the constitutionality of the law in a 7-to-2 majority decision. At that time, the majority opinion was based on the court's view that the law helped preserve the spirit of chastity in society.
However, it is widely viewed that the law is outdated and fails to reflect the changing status of women.