Lee Nak-yeon Focuses on 'Women’s Policy': "The State Must Take Responsibility for Cancer-Affected Women’s Social Reintegration"

The Fifth Women Safety Policy Announcement

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Former leader and Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon is differentiating himself from other candidates by consecutively announcing women's policies. Amid calls from the opposition to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Lee is drawing attention by focusing on women's welfare.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd, Lee announced that he would implement a ‘National Responsibility System for Social Reintegration’ to help women who have had cancer recover their daily lives. This is the fifth time he has introduced a women’s safety policy. Previously, Lee proposed measures such as introducing a purchase history management system for hidden cameras, strengthening penalties for dating violence, improving the residential environment for women living alone (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), and expanding free HPV vaccination for cervical cancer.

The newly announced ‘National Responsibility System for Social Reintegration of Women with Cancer Experience’ aims to improve laws and systems to prevent discrimination against those who have experienced severe illnesses, including breast cancer, in the workplace. It includes establishing a national career linkage system to support work-treatment balance and providing income tax and corporate tax deduction incentives to companies that employ women with cancer experience. Additionally, it specifies women with cancer experience as beneficiaries under the ‘Career-Interrupted Women Act’ and promises to apply health insurance coverage for breast reconstruction surgery required for cancer treatment.

Lee said, "The social reintegration rate of breast cancer survivors in Korea is about 33%, which is significantly lower than the over 80% seen in major European countries. We must respond to the despair of cancer patients who say, ‘I can save my life, but I cannot keep my job.’"