Minister of Gender Equality and Family Announces Customized Policies, Saying "Resolving Gender Conflicts Will Address Low Birthrate"

"Resolving gender conflicts can lead to addressing low birth rates."

Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, who is visiting New York, USA to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), stated this on the 6th (local time) during a meeting with correspondents at the Permanent Mission to the UN. She said, "Because of the low birth rate, scholars from other countries are all studying Korea."

Minister Kim, who has consistently expressed concerns about gender conflicts, said, "Resolving gender conflicts can lead to addressing low birth rates," and also announced tailored policies. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will soon release the results of a joint study conducted with the Bank of Korea on the causes of gender conflicts. She said, "Issues we have considered, such as employment problems, are all included in it," adding, "We believe the answer lies in analyzing the causes of (gender conflicts), and we plan to supplement policies accordingly."

Additionally, Minister Kim introduced measures such as the introduction of a national qualification for private caregivers and the implementation of short-term caregiver services, stating, "Raising youth and future talents well and expanding female talents without career interruptions are countermeasures against low birth rates." Having recently announced the 'Plan to Advance Childcare Services,' Minister Kim expressed confidence, saying, "From the second half of next year, we will achieve noticeable results. Childcare services will change dramatically."

Specifically, the plan includes reorganizing educational curricula and operating an organization responsible for the qualification system to improve not only the quantitative but also the qualitative level. Minister Kim also hinted that the currently operating family-friendly certified company system could be expanded as a pilot card to strengthen parental leave, telecommuting, and flexible work arrangements.

Before the meeting on the same day, Minister Kim attended the opening ceremony of the 67th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as the government's chief representative and held a bilateral meeting with the European Union (EU) side. Discussions at this meeting included expanding women's participation in science and technology fields and digital ethics. The meeting, initially scheduled for 30 minutes, reportedly extended for more than 45 minutes due to the enthusiastic willingness of both sides to cooperate.

The digital ethics sector is an area of particular interest to the EU side. Minister Kim said, "Digital technology is an opportunity, but there are also problems caused by digital technology," and added, "We are considering how to incorporate ethics and gender equality perspectives." She explained, "Since Korea is an advanced country in the digital field, it is in a position to take the lead in ethics related to the digital foundation," and noted, "Gender impact assessments are also being reflected in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms."

In the afternoon, Minister Kim is scheduled to introduce the policy achievements pursued by our government to the international community through a keynote speech at the high-level general discussion, focusing on achieving gender equality in the digital era and fostering female talent in advanced fields. Representative policy examples include the Digital Clean Platform, which provides customized educational content to elementary, middle, and high school students, and gender equality education through the metaverse. She also mentioned legislative cases such as the enforcement of the law supporting stalking victims.

Furthermore, when questions arose regarding the government's solution to compensation for victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation, as well as Korea-Japan relations and the comfort women issue, Minister Kim responded, "The comfort women issue remains recognized as an unprecedented wartime women's human rights issue and a universal human rights violation." She explained, "Our official position is to raise international awareness of the essence of the comfort women issue and to continuously strive to restore the dignity and honor of the victims by promoting various commemorative projects." Regarding Korea-Japan relations, she added, "It is based on the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration. While facing the issues of the past, both countries aim to move forward as future-oriented partners."