Denial of the Medical Benefits for Married Woman’s Parents that are given to Married Man’s Constitutes Discrimination
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended to “A” University’s Hospital reforming the criteria for hospital expenses discount in order to prevent further discrimination between a woman staff and a man staff in marriage.
A petitioner Mr. Joo (man, 68) filed a complaint before NHRCK in May 2012 claiming that the “A” University’s Hospital does not provide discounts on hospital expenses for married woman staff’s parents while it does for married man staff’s.
Against it, the “A” University’s Hospital insists that the discount is based on the agreement between the “A” University and “A” University’s Hospital and the agreement excludes a married woman staff from the benefit, thus it is not discrimination without a reasonable ground. Moreover, the “A” University’s Hospital claimed it would discontinue staff’s benefit for hospital bill since it was called upon to tighten criteria of staff’s benefit by the Board of Audit and Inspection after their inspection on ten national university’s hospitals and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in 2010.
However, the NHRCK notes that a woman staff may not have an option for medical expenses discount after marriage since the system automatically removes her parents from the beneficiary list. Furthermore, in case a married couple both works at the “A” University’s Hospital, the beneficiaries are limited to husband’s parents. On the top of it, such employee benefit of the “A” University’s hospital is based on a patriarchal system which takes a view that a married woman is no longer a member of family of her birth, and thus, a married woman does not have the same right to family affairs of her own as much as a married man. Therefore, the NHRCK decides it is gender discrimination.
In addition, even though the Minister of Education, Science and Technology recommended to the “A” University’s Hospital ceasing the provision of discount on hospital bill for employees, the relevant reform proposal has not been approved by the Board of the “A” University’s Hospital despite the proposal was submitted two times. Given that such discriminatory employee benefit system will persist for some uncertain period, the NHRCK decided it was essential to correct the gender-discriminatory practice of the “A” University’s Hospital before repealing the discount regulation as a whole.
