A woman on July 6 pulls out a sanitary pad from a public dispenser at a restroom of Eunpyeong Women's Development Center in Seoul's Eunpyeong-gu District on the first day of a pilot program for providing free pads. (Yonhap News)

By Jeong Euiseok

A pilot public program for providing free women's sanitary pads has been launched nationwide.

The service sponsored by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family began on July 6 at public facilities in pilot regions.

Twelve local governments including the Gwangjin-gu and Eunpyeong-gu districts of Seoul; Gwangmyeong and Suwon, Gyeonggi-do Province; and Seocheon-gun County, Chungcheongnam-do Province, are offering the free pads.

Some 500 public facilities with high accessibility like libraries and youth centers will have dispensers installed, with the service to start at places that have completed preparations. Mid-size pads are provided, with each package of two labeled as "public sanitary pads" or "sanitary pads for all."

Both manual and automatic dispensers are used depending on a site's conditions.

An automatic dispenser runs at 20-second intervals and has voice and Braille guidance for visually impaired users. After undergoing safety and quality inspections through tests for electromagnetic compatibility, this type will be installed at sites in phases from July 20.

The ministry will provide information on facilities with the dispensers on its website. It will also introduce a map-based search function to allow users to locate nearby facilities and real-time pad availability.

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