"Failure to Properly Protect Women's Rights" 'Petition to Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' Surpasses 100,000... What Is the Ministry's Position?

National Assembly Petition Gains 100,000 Signatures in Four Days... Referred to Committee
Ministry of Gender Equality to Begin On-Site Inspection in Seoul Next Week Regarding 'Park Won-soon Allegations'

On the 17th, a petition to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family posted on the National Assembly petition board received 100,000 signatures and was referred to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, among others. Photo by National Assembly petition board screen capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] A National Assembly petition calling for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) has garnered the support of 100,000 people and has been referred to a committee. In response, MOGEF stated, "We believe the petition to abolish the ministry originated from expectations regarding MOGEF's policies and roles."

Choi Seongji, spokesperson for MOGEF, said at a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 23rd, "MOGEF is responsible for tasks related to women, families, and youth, and has been striving to realize a gender-equal society, coexistence of diverse families, support for healthy youth activities, and protection of victims of sexual crimes."

Spokesperson Choi added, "We will broadly gather public opinions to gain empathy and support."

However, Choi also mentioned, "MOGEF does not actually have investigative authority when related incidents occur," and added, "Legal amendments may be necessary to enable collaboration between MOGEF and other institutions."

Earlier, on the 17th, a petition titled "Petition for the Abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family" was posted on the National Assembly petition board. The petition received 100,000 signatures within four days of being posted.

The petitioner stated, "I petition for the abolition of MOGEF, which has long been known for wasting taxes without doing any meaningful work," and claimed, "Although the ministry was established to promote gender equality and protect families and youth, it has not implemented gender equality policies but instead created misandrist and reverse-discriminatory systems, wasting the budget."

The petitioner also referred to the Justice Memory Solidarity incident and the sexual harassment allegations against the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, stating, "They showed subpar responses and handling capabilities and failed to properly protect women's rights," and urged, "Please abolish MOGEF to prevent budget waste."

In response, MOGEF plans to conduct an on-site inspection in Seoul related to the sexual harassment allegations against the late mayor Park. On the same day, Hwang Yunjung, Director of the Rights Promotion Bureau at MOGEF, stated at the briefing, "At the end of July, we plan to conduct an on-site inspection in Seoul to check measures against sexual harassment."

Director Hwang explained, "According to the Framework Act on Gender Equality, we can inspect how sexual violence prevention measures and grievance handling systems are operated, and whether recurrence prevention measures are established and implemented," adding, "We will also review employee participation in related measures and situations involving secondary damage within the organization."

Meanwhile, the petition will be discussed by a petition review subcommittee formed by the ruling and opposition party coordinators within the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee. This is because amending the Government Organization Act is necessary to abolish MOGEF.

The petition review subcommittee of the Public Administration and Security Committee may dismiss the petition without submitting it to the plenary session if it deems that there is no need to refer the petition based on the review results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.