Gender-Based Crimes in South Korea: Threats to Women's Safety in The Implementation of Cedaw

Abstract

Gender inequality in South Korea remains a persistent issue, marked by increasing gender-based violence in both
physical and digital spaces. Rising cases of femicide, sexual violence, and digital exploitation, such as the discovery
of a deepfake chatroom involving more than 220,000 male members, have heightened women’s sense of insecurity
in everyday life. This study aims to examine gender-based violence as a threat to women’s human security in South
Korea and to evaluate the state’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) through a feminist analytical framework. Using a descriptive
qualitative method based on secondary data, the research applies Feminist Security Theory (FST) to shift the
concept of security beyond state-centric and military perspectives toward individual well-being and freedom from
fear. The findings indicate that despite South Korea’s formal ratification of CEDAW, entrenched patriarchal
norms, institutional bias, and weak legal enforcement continue to undermine women’s security. Gender-based
violence is frequently normalized or inadequately addressed, revealing a significant gap between international
commitments and domestic practice. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the emergence of the 4B Movement,
Bihon, Bichulsan, Biyeonae, and Bisekseu, represents a collective response to state failure in ensuring women’s
safety. The movement reflects women’s loss of trust in legal and social institutions and highlights how women
reclaim agency through resistance. This study concludes that effective implementation of CEDAW requires
structural transformation of social, cultural, and institutional frameworks that perpetuate gendered insecurity.