"Korea is a Ceasefire Country" Claims of 'Female Civil Defense Training'
"Isn't This Targeting Young Men?" Criticism from Both Ruling and Opposition Parties
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] Kim Ki-hyun, a lawmaker and presidential candidate of the People Power Party, announced that he will push for a legislative amendment to make civil defense training mandatory for women. Kim has long argued that women should also be required to receive basic military education. This legislative amendment is the first step toward mandating basic military education for women, ultimately aiming to equip women with survival skills in wartime situations.
On the 22nd, right after the Lunar New Year holiday, Kim announced that he would propose an amendment to the Civil Defense Basic Act. The amendment is expected to include provisions requiring women to undergo civil defense training, which is currently conducted for men aged 20 to 40. The purpose is for women to learn emergency measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillator use, as well as complete training on industrial accident prevention, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) preparedness, and traffic and fire safety education, enabling them to respond to various disasters and crisis situations.
Kim described the amendment to the Civil Defense Basic Act as "the first step toward a gender-equal military service system without social conflict, ensuring national safety." In a post on Facebook, he said, "Our country is still in a state of armistice," adding, "Basic military education for women provides the minimum knowledge to protect women's safety during wartime and, by itself, will serve as a form of war deterrence against North Korea." Last October, Kim also argued for mandatory basic military education for women, stating that women should receive training similar to 'reserve forces training.'
However, inside and outside the political sphere, there is an interpretation that this is a strategy to capture the votes of so-called 'I-dae-nam' (men in their 20s) ahead of the March 8 party convention. Analysts say this follows a similar line to President Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign promises targeting I-dae-nam during the last presidential election, such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) and raising soldiers’ pay. At that time, President Yoon’s promises were criticized as 'gender-based division' skewed toward I-dae-nam.
Go Min-jung, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, criticized in an interview with CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show' on the 25th, saying, "Why must it be through civil defense? If defensive knowledge for survival is necessary for women, it can be taught sufficiently through regular school curricula or workplaces. There are places other than civil defense where you can learn CPR and such."
Go added, "Ultimately, this is a promise hastily made to appeal to men in their 20s to secure party leadership. I wonder if politics can be made that simply." Another lawmaker from the same party, Kwon In-sook, also criticized Kim, saying, "This is the 'MOGEF abolition' version for national defense, brought out to try to bounce back when approval ratings drop."
Voices criticizing Kim also emerged within the ruling party. Yoon Sang-hyun posted on Facebook, "While it is true that women need basic military training, the current administration has yet to fulfill even the promise to abolish MOGEF," and added, "Kim’s recent promise cannot escape suspicion of being a gender policy rather than a security policy."
Kim denied that this was a strategy to target I-dae-nam. He said, "Some say this policy was introduced to capture the votes of men in their 20s, but that is not true. Rather, it is a proposal on a topic that the political sphere has avoided due to electoral concerns. Even if it gains only 1% support, what must be done should be done."
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