ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to compare social welfare systems between the North and the South. It describes the integrability of social security systems for a unified Korea. The social welfare system in South Korea consists of three components: social insurance, public assistance, and social welfare services. The Korean peninsula is divided around the 38th parallel into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south. In North Korea the major framework in social welfare was laid down as early as 1946 and 1951 as expressed through the Labor Law the Law of the Equality of Sexes and the Public Health Decree. In South Korea social welfare programs have been introduced to compliment the limitations of market mechanisms. Social welfare expenditure is to be designed to meet social and mental needs of the people such as social security, amenities, and education.
