Women’s Groups Urge Yoon to "Deeply Reflect on the United Sentiment of Women in Their 20s and 30s"

"Given the Responsibility to Recognize Structural Discrimination and Actively Resolve It"
Demand for Establishing a Gender Equality Control Tower

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is visiting the People Power Party's vote counting situation room set up at the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th to celebrate his victory./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The Korean Women's Associations United (KWAU) urged President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol to "properly recognize structural gender discrimination and fulfill the constitutional duty of realizing gender equality," calling for the abandonment of the 'abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' pledge and the establishment of a presidential Gender Equality Commission.

In a statement released on the 10th, KWAU said, "We hope President-elect Yoon and the People Power Party fully understand the significance of the public sentiment that elected the 20th president by a very narrow margin of less than 1%, despite strong public opinion for regime change," adding, "In particular, the 20s and 30s female citizens who showed their desire and will for new politics by choosing the third political bloc in the recent local elections strongly united at the end of the presidential election to prevent setbacks in gender equality policies, and this meaning must be deeply reflected upon."

KWAU noted, "This election was the first presidential election after the Me Too movement and was held amid deepened inequality and polarization due to the COVID-19 pandemic," but criticized, "During the election period, the People Power Party and the president-elect actively used regressive and fictitious frames of hate speech and gender conflict in their campaigns, disappointing many citizens."

They then urged President-elect Yoon to address gender discrimination issues. KWAU stated, "The responsibility to recognize structural discrimination and actively work towards its resolution has been entrusted to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol. The president and government, empowered by the people, have the responsibility and duty to create a society where no one is excluded and everyone is respected according to constitutional values," emphasizing, "We strongly demand that the next government establish a national governance philosophy based on democracy and gender equality values and actively work to eliminate structural discrimination."

KWAU also criticized President-elect Yoon's pledges to 'strengthen punishment for false accusations' and 'abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.' They said, "'The pledge to introduce a false accusation clause in the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes' and 'abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' stem from a misunderstanding of structural discrimination and are dangerous policies that reinforce and tolerate discrimination and violence against women and minorities," stressing that these must be abandoned.

Furthermore, KWAU demanded, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family should be further strengthened, and all ministries should establish departments responsible for gender equality policies," adding, "To fundamentally and systematically resolve gender discrimination and violence that occur complexly across various fields, a control tower with substantial authority must be established."

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol posted on his Facebook on the 8th, emphasizing his pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Photo by Yoon, President-elect's Facebook capture

Meanwhile, President-elect Yoon has faced criticism from women in their 20s and 30s for his pledge to 'abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.' In an interview with Hankook Ilbo on February 7, when asked about the pledge to abolish the Ministry, he responded, "There is no longer structural gender discrimination. Discrimination is an individual issue. Men can be disadvantaged, and women can be disadvantaged. The idea that women are treated unequally and men receive superior treatment is an old story." On March 8, International Women's Day, he posted on his Facebook page reiterating his pledges to 'abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' and 'strengthen punishment for false accusations.'

In response, foreign media labeled President-elect Yoon as an 'anti-feminist political newcomer.' French AFP reported in an article titled "Anti-feminist Political Newcomer: South Korea's New President Yoon Seok-yeol" that despite much evidence to the contrary, Yoon claimed that Korean women are not discriminated against and proposed misogynistic pledges such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.