Choo Mi-ae: "Not Understanding Female Supremacy as Feminism... No Intention for Exhaustive Debate"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is giving a speech declaring her candidacy for the 20th presidential election at a studio in Heyri, Paju, Gyeonggi Province on the 23rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, who declared her candidacy for the presidential election, responded to criticism labeling her as anti-feminist by stating, "What I have raised concerns about is the male-exclusive 'extremism of feminism.'"

On the 29th, Choo posted on Facebook, "What is the intention behind trying to label me as anti-feminist while ignoring the context of my words?" and added, "I have never understood female supremacy as feminism."

The day before, Choo appeared on the YouTube channel 'Sisa Tapa TV' and said, "If women want to be treated like flowers, they will always be nothing more than decorations," and "Therefore, a world where feminism is unnecessary should be realized," which drew criticism from Justice Party lawmaker Shim Sang-jung and Youth Justice Party leader Kang Min-jin.

Choo clarified, "I did not say that 'women being treated like flowers is feminism,' but explained that 'women claim fair opportunities without discrimination, not special favors.'" She continued, "My relentless efforts have been part of overcoming gender discrimination, and having lived as a female judge, female politician, and working mom, such misrepresentations or distortions do not work on me. As the leader of the ruling party, I have enforced a zero-tolerance policy toward public officials involved in Me Too incidents, and as Minister of Justice, I raised the age of statutory rape to 16 and established a gender equality advisory officer directly under the minister to reform discriminatory laws and practices."

She added, "I oppose the 'feminist phenomenon' that is misunderstood as dogmatic and hateful. Original feminism is not like this," and argued, "The concerning 'exclusive feminist phenomenon' even turns those who would unite to realize gender equality into enemies. Because feminism is monopolized, unfortunately, there are communication difficulties within women themselves due to generational and educational differences regarding feminism."

A post by former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae on her Facebook on the 29th. Photo by Choo, former Minister's Facebook capture.

Furthermore, she stated, "Today, we are talking about the post-gender discrimination era. Feminism, often translated as women's movement, is widely misunderstood, but feminism is not limited to women themselves," and emphasized, "Misunderstanding this leads to hostile and aggressive attitudes toward men, which I cannot support."

Choo then said, "I have no intention of engaging in any futile or exhausting debate over this, nor is there any reason to do so, so I will not continue this discussion. I believe that by addressing more overwhelming issues such as economic inequality, the decline of education, the ongoing war state on the Korean Peninsula, and environmental destruction, many of the challenges feminism currently faces can also be resolved," and added, "True feminism will only fulfill its original role properly when gender, economic inequality, and ecology are united and meet progressive politics."

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