The Irony of the Minister of Gender Equality Candidate Who Came to Abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

Kim Hyun-sook "Need to Abolish Current Ministry of Gender Equality Structure" Reconfirmed
Ruling Party "Comedy That Those Advocating Abolition Came to Be Minister" Fierce Criticism
Expert "Government Reorganization Not Realistically Easy"

Kim Hyun-sook, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is responding to questions from lawmakers at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Kim Hyun-sook, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, reaffirmed her position on abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) during the confirmation hearing held on the 11th. However, she also showed inconsistency by stating that the authority, role, and functions of MOGEF should be maintained. This has been evaluated as clearly exposing the contradictions in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's women's policies.

At the hearing, Kim said, "I agree with President Yoon Seok-yeol's pledge to abolish MOGEF," and explained, "In fact, while preparing for the confirmation hearing after coming to MOGEF, I felt that the work was very fragmented and there were too few projects that could be proactively led, so I got the strong impression that it plays a kind of secondary role."

She continued, "I came to think a lot that instead of transferring all functions to other ministries, we need to integrate, organize, and create a control tower that can unify them." Although she said MOGEF should be abolished, this can be interpreted as a call to efficiently reorganize the dispersed functions of various ministries. Kim also added that "(MOGEF) lacks budget and authority when it wants to take the lead in something," expressing the opinion that the budget and authority should be strengthened.

The Democratic Party criticized Kim, saying that if her claims were true, the functions of MOGEF should be strengthened rather than abolished. Assemblywoman Kang Seon-woo pointed out, "From what the nominee says, it seems she means to deepen and complement MOGEF to bring about positive change. When we pursue such things, it is common sense not to use the word 'abolish'." Assemblywoman Kwon In-sook also criticized, "If the functions are insufficient, shouldn't we strengthen the authority and roles instead of abolishing it? It should be complemented, but she irresponsibly assumes abolition without filling any content."

Kim Hyun-sook, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is taking an oath at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 11th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim also did not give a clear answer when asked whether she agreed with President Yoon Seok-yeol's past statement that "there is no structural gender discrimination." Despite persistent questioning by Democratic Party members demanding a "yes" or "no" answer, Kim said, "The gender wage gap in our country is the largest among OECD countries, and the glass ceiling index remains at the lowest level without improvement," but avoided a direct answer by saying, "It is not appropriate to comment on the president's remarks."

Democratic Party members condemned her, saying, "It is nonsense for someone who wants to be the minister of MOGEF to agree with abolishing MOGEF and still sit here to try to become minister," and "Where else is there a comedy where a nominee appears at a confirmation hearing asking to be appointed minister while saying MOGEF should be abolished?" However, Kim maintained her position, saying, "As I said, the current framework of MOGEF needs to be discarded."

When asked by Assemblywoman Kwon what she would do if the Government Organization Act is not passed, Kim responded, "That is the role of the National Assembly, so I think it should be respected," showing a somewhat passive attitude compared to her previous advocacy for abolishing MOGEF. Assemblywoman Kwon fired back, "(Then) on what basis do you hold the opinion of abolition? How can the public trust someone who only says they will check, review, and gather opinions in the future but comes out assuming abolition? This is dereliction of duty."

President Yoon made abolishing MOGEF a key campaign pledge during his candidacy. However, contrary to his declarations, he nominated a minister candidate for MOGEF on the 10th of last month, and the Presidential Transition Committee excluded the pledge to abolish MOGEF from the 110 national tasks announced on the 3rd. This led to criticism that it was effectively a retreat from the pledge, and as public opinion worsened, President-elect Yoon reiterated his position to continue pursuing the abolition of MOGEF without change.

Professor Lee Jun-han of the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Incheon National University commented on the MOGEF issue, saying, "It seems that the pledge was announced because it seemed advantageous for the election, but realistically, since reorganizing the government organization law is not easy, they are taking a wait-and-see approach, resulting in a regrettable situation where neither option is feasible," and added, "Government reorganization is such a difficult issue that even after carefully drafting a blueprint, proposing alternatives, and gaining public consent, it is still questionable whether it can be implemented."