BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SDG 5

The Republic of Korea has made considerable progress in gender equality, particularly in education, legal protections, and women’s participation in the workforce. The country has developed policies aimed at improving gender equality and supporting women’s participation in economic and public life.

Education is one of Korea’s strongest areas of progress, with women achieving high levels of tertiary education. However, this progress has not translated fully into equality in employment and leadership. Women remain underrepresented in political decision-making, while significant differences persist in employment and earnings.

Gender equality therefore remains an important policy challenge. The combination of a highly educated female population with persistent inequalities in wages, career opportunities, unpaid care work, and political representation makes Korea a relevant case for examining the gap between educational progress and substantive gender equality.

CURRENT CHALLENGES AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The gender pay gap is one of the most significant challenges. Korea has the largest gender wage gap among OECD countries, with women earning substantially less than men. Career interruptions and differences in employment opportunities contribute to this persistent inequality.

Women’s participation in the labour market also remains an important issue. Although female employment has increased, the employment gap between men and women remains significant, particularly among women in their 30s, when family and childcare responsibilities can affect career development.

Political representation and unpaid care work present further challenges. Women held around 21% of parliamentary seats in 2026, while women continue to perform a larger share of unpaid domestic and care work. These factors can limit women’s participation in decision-making and economic life.

LIST OF REFERENCES

Korean Women's Development Institute. (n.d.). [Research report on gender equality in the Republic of Korea]. Korean Women's Development Institute.

National Council for Sustainable Development. (n.d.). K-SDGs: Strategy and goals. Sustainable Development Portal.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (n.d.). Republic of Korea. United Nations Human Rights Office.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (n.d.). Korea. OECD.

Sustainable Development Solutions Network. (n.d.). Republic of Korea: Sustainable Development Report. Sustainable Development Report.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). SDG indicators: Republic of Korea country profile. United Nations.

United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). Republic of Korea: Human Development Report data. Human Development Reports.

UN Women. (2025, March). Republic of Korea and UN Women partner to advance gender equality. UN Women Asia and the Pacific.

UN Women. (n.d.). Republic of Korea country data. UN Women Data Hub.

USEFUL LINKS

• Country report/Voluntary National Reviews

  • https://ncsd.go.kr/en/ksdgs/goals

  • https://eng.kwdi.re.kr/publications/researchReportDetail.do?p=1&idx=104381 

• Bibliography and UN pages about this country:

  • UNPD:https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data?utm_source=chatgpt.com#/countries/KOR 

  • OECD: https://www.oecd.org/en/countries/korea.html 

  • UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal/countryprofiles/kor 

  • UN human rights:https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/republic-korea 

  • Index: https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/korea-rep/ 

  • UN WOMEN count: https://data.unwomen.org/country/republic-of-korea 

  • UN women: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/stories/feature-story/2025/03/republic-of-korea-and-un-women-partner