본문 바로가기
  • Home

Political Process of Legislating the Equality Act in Korea: Focusing on the Interaction among Institutions, Actors, and Discourses

  • Journal of Human Rights Studies
  • Abbr : JHRS
  • 2022, 5(1), pp.87-131
  • DOI : 10.22976/JHRS.2022.5.1.87
  • Publisher : Korean Association of Human Rights Studies
  • Research Area : Social Science > Law > Law of Special Parts > Human Rights / International Human Rights Law
  • Received : June 13, 2022
  • Accepted : June 22, 2022
  • Published : June 30, 2022

Jongwoo Kim 1 Seo Hyeon Su 2

1연세대학교 사회발전연구소
2한국교원대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Since 2007, South Korean society has been witnessing numerous legislative bills to establish a comprehensive anti-discrimination law or equality act. All the proposals have not been successful yet to be passed through the legislative process in the National Assembly (South Korean Parliament), despite dramatic changes in public opinions about the issue during the time. This article is an exploratory study looking into the political process of legislating the Equality Act in the country. Based on theoretical premises of discursive- institutionalism, the paper analyzes political interactions among institutions, actors and discourses, focusing on what particular factors have influenced heavily on the formation process of the institution: The Anti-Discrimination/Equality Act. Study results suggest that discourse effect of the media is a stronger factor than the influence of party politics-related actors in South Korean case. The numbers of liberal and progressive parties show a positive (+) correlation with the frequency of legislative proposals, whereas those of conservative parties and media do not show a significant correlation with it. Furthermore, the discourse competition between pan-progressive and Protestant media shows a strong negative (-) correlation with the frequency of legislation. This is also supported by an increasing trend of media discourse covering the topic of sexual orientation since the 19th National Assembly. Reflecting on the research results, authors discuss about the potential of deliberative democracy to address democratic deficits revealed in the political process of legislating the Equality Act.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.