Shin Young-sook, Vice Minister of Gender Equality, "We Will Create a Society Where Everyone Is Safe from Violence"

"Childcare and Parenting Burdens Still Heavy"
"Tailored Support to Ease Care Burdens"
"Customized Services Centered on Family Centers"
"Psychological and Recovery Support for Bereaved Families of Jeju Air Disaster"

Shin Young-sook, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated on the occasion of the New Year 2025, "We will focus our policy efforts on overcoming low birth rates through care and job support, supporting vulnerable and at-risk families and youth, and creating a society where everyone, regardless of gender and generation, is safe from violence."

In her New Year's address on the 1st, Vice Minister Shin said, "In a complex social environment marked by ongoing economic uncertainty, low birth rates and aging population issues, and rapid digital technology advancements, there are still many places in need of support. The burden of childcare and parenting remains heavy at home and in the workplace, and systematic support for women's economic independence is urgently needed."

She also pledged to contribute to overcoming low birth rates. Vice Minister Shin said, "To reduce the burden of care, we will expand government support for childcare services for dual-income families and broaden customized support such as high-demand school drop-off and pick-up services and emergency care. We will improve treatment by raising childcare allowances to activate the influx of childcare providers and enhance the professionalism of the workforce through continuous education to provide the care services that users want."

She added, "We will reform the system so that more small and medium-sized enterprises take an interest in family-friendly culture and can receive family-friendly certification, and expand benefits for certified companies. We will establish the '4th Basic Plan for Women's Economic Activities' to strengthen support for women's economic activities throughout their life cycle in a more systematic way."

Shin Young-sook, Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is reporting on the status of responses to deepfake sex crimes at the plenary meeting of the Gender Equality and Family Committee held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

She also emphasized efforts to support the vulnerable. Vice Minister Shin said, "We will expand support such as child-rearing expenses, school supplies, and rental housing for low-income single-parent families raising children alone. In addition, starting from July, we will implement a child support advance payment system where the state pays child support first and recovers it from the debtor to reduce the burden of child-rearing."

She went on to say that customized services by family type will be strengthened, centered on family centers nationwide, for multicultural children and youth, grandchildren in grandparent-headed families, single-person households, teenage parents, and unmarried mothers and fathers. For isolated and reclusive youth, she said measures will be prepared with the goal of 'escaping isolation and seclusion.'

Vice Minister Shin stated, "We will protect the safety and rights of the people" and announced plans to introduce an AI-based deepfake detection system to protect victims of digital sex crimes. She also said that for digital sex crimes against children and youth, the scope of punishment for grooming crimes, which previously applied only online, will be expanded offline to provide stronger protection for children and youth from sex crimes.

She announced plans to expand the ‘1366 Integrated Support Group,’ which provides one-stop services for victims of complex types of violence such as dating violence, stalking, and sexual violence, and to strengthen support for the independence of minor victims of sexual violence after leaving protection facilities, as well as emergency housing support for stalking victims.

She also said that the '2nd Basic Plan for the Prevention of Violence Against Women' will be established to systematically prepare protection and support policies for victims of violence in response to changing environments such as the use of digital technology and the increasing complexity of violence types.

Furthermore, she said that careful attention will be given to ensure that the grandmothers who are victims of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ system can live their later years in stability, and efforts to restore their honor and dignity will continue on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of liberation.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Shin expressed condolences to the victims and bereaved families of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster, stating, "We will do our best to support the psychological recovery of the bereaved families through the linkage of the Integrated Psychological Support Group, family centers, and youth counseling and welfare centers."