Democratic Party Women's Committee "Jung Ho-young's Human Rights Awareness 'Failing Grade'... Yoon, Withdraw Nomination"
Jung Ho-young "Sorry if Anyone Was Hurt"
Health and Welfare Minister nominee Jeong Ho-young is arriving at the National Assembly hearing preparation office set up at the National Pension Service Chungjeongno building in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 12th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid ongoing controversies over columns previously contributed by Jeong Ho-young, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, the Democratic Party of Korea's National Women's Committee on the 13th urged President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol to withdraw Jeong's nomination, stating that he revealed a low-level perception of women.
The Democratic Party's Women's Committee issued a statement that morning, pointing out, "Jeong's revealed low-level perception of women is shocking to the public."
The Women's Committee criticized Jeong's past newspaper columns, saying, "As a minister responsible for the health and welfare of the people, Jeong not only lacks ability and expertise but also fails in human rights awareness. Even before formal verification has begun, there are more than enough disqualifying reasons."
The committee pointed out that Jeong, in several columns, "showed attitudes that belittled women and disparaged the desperate feelings of job seekers, displayed a perception that blames women for low birth rates, and revealed a mistaken view that shifts responsibility for sexual crimes onto female victims."
They continued, "President-elect Yoon must promptly withdraw Jeong's nomination. Supporting Jeong would betray the fundamental principle of balanced appointments and would invite criticism that even the standards of meritocracy and expertise he claimed to uphold have collapsed," urging, "We hope President-elect Yoon realizes that denying structural gender discrimination means the low birth rate problem can never be solved."
Health and Welfare Minister nominee Jeong Ho-young is leaving the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the National Pension Service in Seodaemun-gu on the afternoon of the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Earlier, Jeong, a surgeon at Kyungpook National University Hospital, sparked controversy in October 2012 by writing in a local daily column that "giving birth is patriotic, and having three or more children makes one a great person," and that "the special remedy for cancer treatment is marriage."
Additionally, in a column contributed in December 2010, he shared his experience as a hospital recruitment interviewer, noting a stark difference between applicants' photos and their actual appearance, claiming that women tend to retouch their photos more than men.
At the time, Jeong said, "Women are more extreme than men, and regardless of beauty, women's photos differ from their real appearance, probably because they 'Photoshopped' themselves into the image they want."
The Democratic Party's Health and Welfare Committee also held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication office that morning, stating, "Jeong lacks not only the expertise required as the head of health and welfare but also the basic qualities to work in government due to his distorted view of women," and criticized, "Jeong, whose professionalism and qualifications are in doubt, is not the right person to bear the weight of the responsible minister system."
They added, "Considering the importance of health and welfare policies, President-elect Yoon's nomination of Jeong disregards the significance of the health and welfare sector. The cabinet should not be formed like a school club gathering acquaintances," and urged, "We hope President-elect Yoon reconsiders Jeong's nomination even now."
Meanwhile, Jeong apologized on the 12th for the controversial columns, saying, "I am sorry." Regarding the past column that described marriage and childbirth as 'patriotism,' which caused controversy, he said, "If anyone felt uncomfortable or hurt even a little, I sincerely apologize."
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