By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter


The patriarchal family registry system, which has long been blamed for discrimination against women, will likely be abolished early next year.

The scrapping of the system will bring significant changes to male-dominant Korean society, which has respected Confucian philosophy for several hundred years.

On Dec. 27, lawmakers of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly made a breakthrough by agreeing to submit the revision of the civil law to abolish ``hojuje,’’ or the traditional family registry system to parliament in February.

Initiated by 39 female lawmakers, 152 male legislators joined the move to scrap hojuje on the same date. It means that about 64 percent or a total of 191 lawmakers agreed to abolish the traditional family registration system.

It has taken about five years since women’s civic coalition filed a petition to abolish hojuje to the Assembly in 2000.

The abolishment of the system is expected to bring significant changes in South Korean society, which has long been a male-oriented culture.

Lee Kyoung-sook, member of the Korea Women’s Associations United (KWAU), said that the traditional family registry system has given priority to men both in family and society because the system perpetuates male-oriented culture.

``It will transform social consciousness, which has taken root in the male-dominant system inside and outside the family. Usually, change of public consciousness brings change in social systems. But sometimes, a change of system can drastically transform social consciousness,’’ she said.

According to her, scrapping hojuje will bring married couples legally equal status, instead of forcing husbands to be registered as head of the family.

``It will also save a lot of single females who suffer discrimination under the current male-dominated family registry system, especially now we are witnessing a skyrocketing divorce rate,’’ she said.

However, an alternative system should be explored such as an individual or family registry system. The Ministry of Gender Equality presented a proposal for individual registry system as an alternative to the Ministry of Justice as part of efforts both to protect privacy and maintain official registry records.

If the bill passes through the Assembly in February, discussion of the alternatives will gain momentum to replaced a family registration system with an individual registration system.

Lee said that women’s groups envision the individual registry document, which is supposed to include basic records of people’s birth, marriage and death, as the most desirable alternative.

``Confucian scholars argue an alternative system, anything but the hojuje, will disrupt family solidarity. But it is a kind of ideological debate without consideration of the irrational aspects of hojuje,’’ she said.

The patriarchal family registration system, which gives legal authority to the male family head, or ``hoju,’’ will be replaced with an alternative registration system after a grace period for preparation.

The revision bill will pave the way for children to change their surnames, which were traditionally only taken from their father’s.

Children of divorced or remarried families will be allowed to change their original surnames to their stepfather’s or mother’s surname, if the bill passes through the National Assembly.

In addition, children can take their mother’s surname if both the mother and father agree. But the bill states that children, in principle, will still use the surnames of their fathers.

Under the system, the status of each family member is defined in relation to the male family head, or hoju. Upon marriage, women are taken from the register headed by their father and then placed under a new one headed by her husband.

Women activists have long demanded the system be scrapped, saying it generated discrimination toward women by allowing only men to legally head the family.

However, if the bill passed through the National Assembly in February, it is likely to face harsh protest from Confucian traditionalists, who still prefer sons over daughters and are accustomed to having their family lineage succeeded by male children.

Accordingly, a bumpy road lies ahead until the revision plan’s legislation, as conservative groups, who believe the hoju system protects the very pillars of Korean society, are expected to protest against the move.

The Alliance for the Korean Orthodox Family Institution cast doubt on the move, claiming that because the Constitutional Court has yet to rule over whether it is constitutional or not in the upcoming decision, it is likely the bill could seriously violate constitutional law.

Opposition is mounting and many urge alternatives be explored through discussion only after the Constitutional Court makes its decision.

Conservatives and traditional scholars strongly argue that the abolition of the system will result in the collapse of families and seriously jeopardize social order.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr