Hataekyung "Only Represents Privileged Women" vs Jin Joongkwon "Women Face Career Interruptions" Debate Over Maintaining the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

Hataekyung "Ministry of Gender Equality's existence is ambiguous... No coordination"
Jinjungkwon "Do men get pregnant and give birth?" Arguments for 'retaining the Ministry of Gender Equality' amid career breaks

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the People Power Party (left), and Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Since declaring his candidacy for the presidential election, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party who has pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), and Jin Jung-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University, engaged in a heated debate over the "abolition of MOGEF" and the "introduction of a one-year joint military service system for men and women."

On the 15th, Ha claimed that power-related sexual misconduct was the fault of MOGEF, stating, "20 to 30 years ago, our government had a weak awareness of gender equality. That’s why the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family worked to instill gender equality awareness and policies across all government ministries, and now each ministry has (gender equality awareness and policies)."

Appearing on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu,' Ha said, "MOGEF is not a department positioned to act as a control tower for other ministries. That should be done by the Prime Minister’s Office. But because MOGEF exists ambiguously, coordination doesn’t happen, there’s no control tower, and ownership is lacking." He added, "This is not about worsening gender equality; in the past, MOGEF played a progressive role, but now it is actually obstructing. It is in a position that does not match its capabilities, so we need to normalize it."

He also said, "I’m not claiming that gender discrimination has disappeared," and argued, "It should not be a Gender Equality Committee but rather be overseen by the Prime Minister’s Office, and a Gender Conflict Resolution Committee is more necessary."

Jin, who was a panelist on the radio show, mentioned power-related sexual crime cases involving Park Won-soon, Oh Keo-don, and Ahn Hee-jung, and countered, "Was there any institutional discrimination there? Did those organizations lack gender equality awareness? Yet these incidents still happened."

In response, Ha retorted, "That’s because MOGEF exists." He continued, "MOGEF has become strangely distorted by vested interests and politically partisan. When sexual misconduct incidents occur, it ignores the victims who are women. When problems arise in the opposition party, it attacks, but when such issues occur in the Democratic Party, it remains silent and has become completely partisan," raising his voice.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "(MOGEF) only represented privileged women. That’s the second reason it should be dismantled," saying, "The first reason is that it is no longer needed, and the second reason is that an organization that should have disappeared remains like a zombie, doing strange things. It only represents privileged women and continuously stirs up gender conflicts."

Ha also responded to Kim Seong-hoe, director of the political research institute ThinkWhy, who asked, "What is the goal you want to achieve through the one-year joint military service system for men and women?" by saying, "The most important thing is stable troop recruitment. The second is to have people more suitable for the military. Currently, many unsuitable people enter the military, causing many accidents."

When Jin mentioned population decline and asked, "Women cannot have and raise children due to career breaks. The state does not take responsibility for childcare. Women who have served in the military suffer career breaks. Is there any countermeasure?" Ha replied, "Women will also receive military service bonus points," and added, "We also studied other countries’ cases; in Israel, women who give birth do not serve in the military. So childbirth and military service do not cause harm."

Jin countered, "That’s meaningless. The average age of childbirth in our country is close to 30. Almost no women give birth at 20," and pointed out, "Women experience career breaks after military service, unlike men. Why? Because our society does not take responsibility for childcare and leaves it to individuals."

Ha responded, "Does a woman raise a child alone? That mindset is outdated. Young people now mostly share household chores. Back in our day, women mainly did everything," he claimed. Jin then asked, "Do men get pregnant and give birth? Do men carry a baby for months?"

Ha answered, "While the wife is carrying the baby, the husband helps in various ways," emphasizing, "One complaint among young people now is that men want parental leave equally. These things can be institutionally supplemented."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, Jung Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, held an online briefing with the press corps and expressed opposition to the 'abolition of MOGEF' proposed in political circles. This was the first official stance she took after the abolition debate surfaced. Minister Jung explained the reason for MOGEF’s continuation, saying, "MOGEF has established itself as an administrative ministry, and as such, it has achieved some success in improving women’s rights and spreading the value of gender equality throughout society."