Jang Hye-young, a Justice Party lawmaker, is speaking at a press conference on the "100,000 Signatures for the Anti-Discrimination Act Report and Legislative Urging" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 15th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Jang Hyeyoung, a member of the Justice Party, urged Lee Junseok, leader of the People Power Party, saying, "Since becoming party leader, I hope you will speak about feminism with a greater sense of responsibility."
On the 16th, Jang appeared on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Boseon's Start of the Morning' and stated, "Before becoming party leader, I think he repeatedly used rhetoric that actively fostered misunderstandings as if a certain type of feminism represented all feminism. I even believe that was quite intentional," making this claim.
She said, "There are many branches of feminism," and added, "There is feminism that believes the Anti-Discrimination Act is absolutely necessary. This feminism holds that all genders must be equally dignified, and that men, women, and transgender people must all be guaranteed equal human rights for the human rights of everyone to truly be protected. I support this kind of feminism."
On the other hand, she explained, "Some feminists argue that only the rights of biological women are important and that the rights of transgender people or men are not important," and said, "I do not agree with this perspective, and I believe many citizens would not agree either."
Meanwhile, regarding Lee’s election as leader of the People Power Party in this leadership race, Jang evaluated, "The birth of a leader in his 30s, especially the leader of the main opposition party, is truly a congratulatory event as it clearly shows that age cannot be an essential limitation in politics."
However, she pointed out, "Lee Junseok’s concept of fairness ultimately relates to fairness in exams," and said, "No matter how well the exam is designed and strictly supervised, an exam is still just an exam, and it cannot be a panacea for all social problems."
She continued, "The biggest problems our society faces now?inequality, discrimination and hatred, and even the climate crisis?are all the world created by those who have exercised decision-making power in our society so far, in other words, those who did well on exams."
She emphasized, "The responsibility of the leader of the main opposition party now is not simply to create a new political exam and become its examiner, but to ensure that all citizens live with dignity and that no single citizen is left behind in the exam of life."
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