A brief summary of an article over at Women News:

A result from a survey has shown that discrimination against sexual minorities in school and the workforce has reached a serious level. One of out five sexual minorities who suffer from discrimination and harassment have attempted suicide. In the hiring process or at the work force, 44.8% of sexual minorities reported facing discrimination, exclusion, or sexual harassment. 

This information was revealed on the 10th of October at 7 pm,at Seoul's Presidential Hotel at a conference on the "State of Discrimination Related to Sexual Preference and Sexual Identity" by the National Human Rights Committee. 

The focus of the presentation was on the discrimination situation at the workforce and in schools in healthcare and public institutions. The GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation conducted the analysis through the National Human Rights Committee for the first time last year from June to December.

▲ 국가인권위원회가 10일 오후 7시 서울 프레지 던트호텔 슈벨트홀에서 2014 인권상황실태조사에 기초한 '성적지향‧성별정체성에 따른 차별 실태 조사 결과 발표회'를 개최했다.   ©이세아 기자

The survey reported responses of 200 students attending middle and high schools aged 13 to 18, and found that one out of five had attempted suicide. The number of students inflicting self-harm also reached 16.1%. Out of the 11 students who dropped out of school, seven of the students' responded that the reasons included fear, discrimination, and alienation felt at school. At school, LGBT youth face ostracization, insult, and disadvantages due to their identity. Students also reported being coerced to give up on school activities or faced disciplinary action like penalties or suspension. Even worse, there were cases where there were actions implemented to track down sexual minorities by having classes write down the names of possible LGBT individuals.

It was also pointed out that the majority of teachers often are ignorant of the human rights of sexual minorities. The acknowledgement of the existence of LGBT youth and the discrimination and harassment they face is very low in teachers. In a survey of one hundred teachers at middle schools across the country, 42 percent acknowledged LGBT individuals, and only 9% provided related consulting. The effectiveness of consulting for LGBT youth at the school has also come into question.

While looking for a job, the level of discrimination against sexual minorities is serious. In the results for a survey targeting 948 LGBT adults, 44.8% of the respondents stated that they experienced discrimination in the hiring process or at the workforce because of their identity. More concretely, this included in wages, benefits, promotions, duties, education and training experience, dismissal as well as harassment, complaints, exclusion in the office, and mockery. Furthermore, 14.1% of homosexuals and bisexuals and 16.5% of transgender individuals revealed that they were advised to resign or were dismissed because of their identity. Also, discrimination in healthcare facilities, public bathrooms, and in the need to have one's ID for insurance, the bank or public offices exists. When a sexual minority faced unjust treatment and sought help from an investigative or judicial institution, they faced secondary damage such as harassment, ignoring the problem, and discrimination or their were suspicions about their claim.