Minister-less Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Audit, Focused Examination on 'Policy Gap'

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The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which has been without a minister for eight months, is expected to face intense scrutiny at the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee’s audit on the 30th. Opposition party members are likely to criticize the 'policy vacuum,' pointing out the absence of key personnel, including the minister.

According to the National Assembly, the Gender Equality and Family Committee will conduct a two-day audit on the 30th and 31st of the Ministry and six affiliated organizations (Korea Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education, Korea Youth Activity Promotion Agency, Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Institute, Korea Healthy Family Promotion Agency, Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute, and Child Support Enforcement Agency). The audit will include the attendance of Shin Young-sook, the acting minister and vice minister of the Ministry, along with 16 witnesses and reference persons, and 4 general witnesses and reference persons.

Opposition members of the Gender Equality and Family Committee plan to focus their inquiries on the administrative vacuum caused by the absence of a minister. Since the resignation of former Minister Kim Hyun-sook was accepted in February, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has not appointed a new minister for the Ministry. Although recent reports indicate that the president has begun the appointment process for a successor, no decision has been made yet. The opposition has continuously voiced criticism over the prolonged ministerial vacancy.

Kim Han-gyu, the opposition party’s secretary from the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference at the National Assembly the day before, stating, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is currently experiencing a prolonged delay in appointing a minister, and several key director positions remain vacant. Such personnel management by the government appears to be an irresponsible attitude that neglects the safety and welfare of the people."

On the 23rd, at the plenary meeting of the Women and Family Committee held at the National Assembly, Kim Han-gyu, the chairman of the bill review subcommittee, is reporting the review results. At the meeting, the "Deepfake Sexual Crime Prevention Act," including amendments to the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (Youth Sexual Protection Act) and the Act on the Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims (Sexual Violence Prevention Act), was passed. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The opposition explains that without a minister, not only is policy implementation hindered, but it is also impossible to conduct proper inquiries during the audit. Other opposition members of the Gender Equality and Family Committee emphasized, "Under the current circumstances, the National Assembly cannot properly question the Ministry’s policies and execution status during the upcoming audit."

Verification of other vacant key positions alongside the ministerial vacancy is also expected. Park Gu-yeon, former First Deputy Minister of State Affairs, was recently appointed as the chairman of the Korea Healthy Family Promotion Agency, a position that had been vacant for nearly a year and a half. In the full committee meeting of the Gender Equality and Family Committee last August, Representative Kim pointed out that the chairman of the Korea Healthy Family Promotion Agency, the Director of the Rights Promotion Bureau, and the Policy Planning Officer positions were vacant.

Additionally, inquiries are anticipated regarding the selection process of the head of the Child Support Enforcement Agency, which has been embroiled in controversy over 'presidential office parachute appointments.' The Enforcement Agency, which became an independent affiliated organization under the Ministry last month, has been conducting the selection process for its head since August. It is known that three candidates remain after document and interview screenings.

During the audit, questions are also expected about the current response status to the recent controversy surrounding deepfake sexual crimes. The Gender Equality and Family Committee has requested the attendance of Kim Byung-chan, Director of the Investigation Bureau at the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters, and Lee Dong-su, Director of the Digital Sexual Crime Deliberation Bureau at the Korea Communications Standards Commission, as general witnesses, as well as Kim Yeo-jin, head of the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center, and Shin Jin-hee, a lawyer from the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, as reference persons?all related to deepfake sexual crime issues.