"What Was the Ministry of Gender Equality Doing During Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don's Sexual Crimes?" Yoo Seung-min Repeatedly Calls for 'Abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality'

"Abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as Populism? 'Eat-and-Run Populism' Belongs to the Moon Administration"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Yoo Seung-min, a former member of the People Power Party and a presidential candidate from the opposition, repeatedly called for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), questioning, "What did MOGEF do during the power-based sexual crimes of former mayors Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don?"

On the 8th, Yoo said on his Facebook, "Didn’t MOGEF refer to the victim as the 'accuser' or 'victim accuser' rather than the 'victim' in their statement when the sexual harassment case of former Mayor Park surfaced?"

Earlier, on the 6th, Yoo proposed a pledge to abolish MOGEF, which drew strong criticism from female politicians and women's civic groups. Nevertheless, he reiterated his call for abolition despite such criticism.

Yoo listed three criticisms against him and rebutted each one. Regarding the accusation of "populism riding on hatred of a specific gender," he said, "I have consistently advocated for the abolition of MOGEF since 2017. This is not a suddenly devised policy," adding, "It is surprising that the Democratic Party, which has pursued populist policies throughout its administration, criticizes me for populism."

He then asked, "Is the expansion of MOGEF populism? Or is the abolition of MOGEF populism?" and strongly criticized, "Moon Jae-in’s pledge to expand MOGEF was populism aimed at gaining votes from women’s groups during the election. It only gained votes but fueled gender conflicts instead of achieving gender equality, making it 'eat-and-run populism.'"

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is briefing on the revised "Act on the Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims" (Sexual Violence Prevention Act), amended last year following the sexual harassment case involving the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, at the government Seoul office briefing room on the 7th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the criticism that "without MOGEF, victims of sexual and domestic violence have nowhere to turn," he said, "Hearing this made me furious, thinking these people have no conscience," and asked, "What did MOGEF do during the power-based sexual crimes of former Mayors Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don?"

He pointed out, "The MOGEF minister kept silent, saying it was an 'ongoing investigation' when asked if it was a sexual crime, and even made a reckless remark that the by-election caused by the sexual crime was 'an opportunity for the entire nation to collectively learn about gender awareness,' showing no regard for the rights of the victimized women and repeatedly causing secondary harm."

He further questioned, "What can MOGEF do to eradicate and severely punish these heinous crimes against women?" and criticized, "Even if MOGEF wanted to protect victims of sexual violence, it lacks the means to do so."

Regarding the criticism of "divisive politics that stirs up gender conflict," he said, "Gender conflicts intensify when either women or men feel unfairly discriminated against. If equality and fairness are guaranteed, the potential for gender conflict will decrease," adding, "Equality and fairness between genders are values that must be realized in all areas of our country's economy and society. How could MOGEF possibly handle all these tasks alone?"

He added, "It would be much better if the president became the control tower for gender equality across all ministries, directing, coordinating, and taking responsibility, rather than what MOGEF does," and said, "The Democratic Party, which has divided the people throughout its administration, has no right to talk about divisive politics."

Yoo also said, "No one who harshly criticizes me has presented a convincing argument on 'why the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is absolutely necessary,'" and asked, "Many of the current tasks of MOGEF overlap with other ministries. Why can’t the president become the control tower responsible for gender equality by returning family policies to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which originally had jurisdiction, and streamlining overlapping projects?"

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