Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Feb. 24. Newsis

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will launch a pilot project to place sanitary pads in public facilities so all women can access menstrual products, marking the first such initiative by any Korean government.

The ministry proposed the plan at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae Tuesday. While existing support programs provide monthly vouchers worth 14,000 won ($10) to some low-income people aged between 9 and 24, the new plan would also install sanitary pad dispensers in public facilities for anyone to use.

“The ministry will select 10 regions for the pilot program, taking into account factors such as population size and existing project conditions,” said Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung.

Sanitary pads will be placed in public facilities such as community service centers, public health centers and family centers. In rural, farming and fishing areas, they will also be supplied to locations such as village halls to improve accessibility for residents.

The ministry plans to conduct the program with a budget of about 3 billion won funded by the central government. Based on an analysis of the results, it will then allocate local government budgets next year to roll out the full program.

“Considering the symbolic significance and potential impact of the government’s first public sanitary pad initiative, close coordination between the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Public Procurement Service is needed to ensure product safety and to handle supplier selection and contract procedures,” Won said.

She also asked the Ministry of Education to make sanitary pads available in schools so students can access them.

Earlier, President Lee Jae Myung raised concerns about the relatively high price of sanitary pads in Korea compared with overseas markets, prompting the industry to lower prices and introduce products such as “100-won sanitary pads.”

At the meeting, Lee also raised concerns about product safety. “While the primary problem — that sanitary pads are expensive — appears to have been resolved, there still seems to be considerable concern about safety.”

Source: Korea Times News