The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and Butter Knife Crew Abolished... Kim Hyun-sook Reaffirms Position

"Ministry of Gender Equality Abolition Used Politically," Criticism Arises
Minister Kim Hyun-sook: "All Ministries Should Discuss Together"
If Ministry of the Interior Proposes Government Organization Act, National Assembly Will Discuss

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook is speaking at the plenary meeting of the Gender Equality and Family Committee held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook reaffirmed her position on the abolition of the ministry but stated that the issue of lacking a roadmap for abolition is something that needs to be discussed with related ministries.

On the 18th, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee, Minister Kim responded to criticisms that, although three months have passed since the government was launched, no roadmap for abolition has been presented and that the issue is being used politically, saying, "I do not think it has been used politically," and added, "We need to gather discussions, form opinions, and have all ministries discuss it together." During the meeting, opposition party lawmakers raised numerous questions related to the president's remarks during last month's presidential briefing, where he said, "It would be better to present a plan as soon as possible."

Minister Kim formed a strategic promotion team within the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on June 17 to prepare a ministry reorganization plan and held 11 meetings. She emphasized that it is difficult for the ministry to work alone without presenting a clear direction on how to reorganize existing projects.

Minister Kim explained, "After working for three months, I found that there is a lot of collaboration with other ministries, making it difficult to work independently," and added, "The contents included in the briefing are important tasks, and it is time to review under what framework we will proceed."

When Democratic Party lawmaker Han Jun-ho asked, "Were you appointed as minister to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family?" Minister Kim replied, "Yes." Lawmaker Han criticized this by saying, "It is not appropriate to talk about abolishing the ministry without having even completed a formal introduction with the National Assembly or having discussions with it." In response, Minister Kim said, "If the Government Organization Act is submitted to the National Assembly, it will be discussed there."

Minister Kim also stated that the Butter Knife Crew project is "planned to be abolished." She said, "We met more than three times and asked to expand the project into more diverse fields, but they said it was difficult, and that side (Parti) talked about stopping the project," but this differs from Parti's claims.

Parti previously stated, "It is unfair that the project was halted due to objections regarding the ‘female participant ratio,’ which was not included in any of the requirements," and added, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family directly selected the team, and the minister personally attended the launch ceremony to support them, but after the launch, criticism arose, and the ministry's explanation that the project is being stopped because no improvement direction was found is unacceptable."