Supply vs. female population: a lopsided picture

Two South Jeolla and Gwangju districts got the lion's share

Gender Equality Ministry says it follows local requests

Usage still unknown as next year's budget set to rise sevenfold

An automatic public sanitary pad dispenser installed at the Eunpyeong-gu district office in Seoul. [Yonhap]
An automatic public sanitary pad dispenser installed at the Eunpyeong-gu district office in Seoul. [Yonhap]

A government pilot program providing free sanitary pads has been channeling a disproportionate share of its supply to areas with relatively small female populations, raising questions about how distribution decisions are being made.

Data submitted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Im Jong-deuk of the National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee show that 36 percent of the 6,196 boxes — about 1.24 million pads — delivered or ordered since the program's launch through Sept. 30 went to just two districts: Mokpo in South Jeolla Province and Buk-gu in Gwangju. Total supply had grown roughly 2.8 times from 2,235 boxes when the program began in late July.

The "Sanitary Pads for All" program places free sanitary products at community centers, public libraries and youth facilities so that anyone can use them, with the aim of guaranteeing women's health rights. It is being piloted across 12 local governments before a planned nationwide rollout.

As of Sept. 30, deliveries and delivery orders by region were: Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, 1,285 boxes; Gwangju Buk-gu, 987 boxes; Seoul Gwangjin-gu, 596 boxes; Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, 551 boxes; Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, 541 boxes; Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, 514 boxes; Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, 400 boxes; Seoul Eunpyeong-gu, 385 boxes; Seocheon-gun, South Chungcheong Province, 336 boxes; Daejeon Jung-gu, 270 boxes; Jeju, 260 boxes; and Geochang-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, 61 boxes. Mokpo received roughly 21 times as many boxes as Geochang-gun, the lowest-supplied district.

Critics say the figures show that the program's primary target demographic — women between the ages of 19 and 50 — has not been properly reflected in how supplies are allocated by region.

Data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on regional supply under the "Sanitary Pads for All" public sanitary pad support program. [Provided by Rep. Im Jong-deuk's office]
Data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on regional supply under the "Sanitary Pads for All" public sanitary pad support program. [Provided by Rep. Im Jong-deuk's office]

Mokpo, which received the most supplies, had a target-age female population of about 36,000 — ninth among the 12 participating local governments. Gwangju Buk-gu, the second-largest recipient, had about 82,000 women in that age group, also placing it toward the lower end of the ranking.

By contrast, Suwon in Gyeonggi Province — which received only about a third as many boxes as Mokpo — had the largest target population at 270,000. Seoul's Eunpyeong-gu (101,000), Jeju (96,000) and Seoul's Gwangjin-gu (85,000) followed in population terms, yet ranked eighth, 11th and third, respectively, in supply volume. Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province had a target population similar to Gwangju Buk-gu at about 82,000, but received roughly half the supply.

The government has been unable to provide figures on how many of the distributed pads have actually been used. When controversy arose in July, the program's first month, over reports that dispensers at pilot sites were not functioning properly, the ministry said operations were being rolled out "sequentially depending on conditions."

The ministry maintains that it supplies quantities in line with what local governments request. A ministry official said the budget this year was drawn up based on population size because the program is fully funded by the central government, but added that "a larger population does not necessarily mean actual demand is proportionally higher." The official said the ministry fulfills regional requests "as long as the demand does not appear clearly unreasonable."

Amid these concerns, the ministry has allocated 22.81 billion won for next year's nationwide expansion — about 7.1 times the pilot program budget of 3.21 billion won this year. Critics say the government should conduct a thorough review of the pilot's operations and policy effectiveness before scaling up.

Im said the government has failed to verify how much of the supply is actually being used despite the program running on taxpayer money. "I will hold the government strictly accountable in the National Assembly for its irresponsible and hasty administration — drawing up a budget without even preparing the data needed to verify actual demand and policy effectiveness," he said.


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