Yoon Faces Calls to Withdraw 'Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality' Pledge... Demands for Restructuring Discussions

Experts "Policy Discussions Must Listen to Diverse Voices"
Proposal to Establish Gender Equality Department and Gender Equality Committee
Women's Groups Issue Statement Demanding Withdrawal of Pledges

Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect of the 20th Republic of Korea, is applauding at the People Power Party's campaign headquarters disbandment ceremony held at the National Assembly Library on the 10th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Voices calling for the withdrawal of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family are spreading across various sectors.

Experts have suggested that reorganization, rather than abolition, is necessary considering its role as a policy execution body.

On the 11th, Professor Lee Eun-ah of Ewha Womans University’s Howkma College of Liberal Arts said, "It is not a matter of whether to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but a time when questions and discussions are needed about which organization will implement gender equality policies and how." She added, "During the pledge implementation process, interests and discourses will form, and diverse voices regarding the direction of change must be listened to."

Senior Research Fellow Park Sun-young of the Korea Women's Policy Institute explained, "In addition to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is responsible for women, family, and youth policy execution, a presidential commission on gender equality should be established to enable inter-ministerial coordination, new agenda development, and collaboration. Coordination functions can be strengthened only if there is an execution function." She continued, "Policies should be strengthened in areas such as life-cycle gender-equal labor, women's health, and gender-based violence, and a new ministry overseeing youth policies is also necessary."

Lee Bok-sil, Chairperson of the Korean branch of the World Association of Women’s Shelters and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during the Park Geun-hye administration, emphasized, "There was criticism that the ministry was ineffective as ministers remained silent on power-based sexual crimes. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was hated for acting as the 'opposition party within the government,' but that was its reason for existence." She added, "It is necessary to further highlight that the ministry promotes policies inclusive of men through digital sexual violence and gender impact assessments, and to review whether there were areas, such as the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, that targeted only women."

Among President-elect Yoon’s pledges are not only the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family but also strengthening punishments for heinous sexual crimes, establishing protection systems against dating violence, minimizing career interruptions for women, and enhancing support for single-parent families. If the ministry is abolished and its functions transferred to other departments, momentum will inevitably decline.

There are also opinions that gender-related departments or organizations should be separated and a separate control tower for family policy should be established. Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Seoul Women’s University’s Department of Social Welfare said, "Family support functions scattered across the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Employment and Labor should be gathered to form a new family policy control tower, while the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family should be reorganized into a Gender Equality Commission or Gender Equality Department to respond to gender issues."

Women’s and civic groups are also issuing statements demanding the withdrawal of the pledge one after another. The Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center stated, "President-elect Yoon and the People Power Party must seriously consider the anxiety and fear felt by women in a society where hatred and discrimination are rampant," and added, "Pledges that seriously undermine gender equality and restrict the rights of sexual violence victims must be withdrawn."

The Gender Politics Research Institute Ye.Se.Yeon said, "Young men in their 20s cannot be lumped together as ‘Itae-nam’ (men who hate Ewha Womans University), and it has been confirmed that they are not grouped as such in this presidential election," adding, "If there is no recognition or reflection that the strategies and campaigns during the election were based on hatred and discrimination, the integration that President-elect Yoon talks about is nothing but hollow rhetoric and deception."