Yoon Hee-sook on 'Abolition of Ministry of Gender Equality': "Reorganize as Ministry of Gender Equality and Family" Won Hee-ryong: "Not a Priority"

Yu "What Can the Ministry of Gender Equality Do?"
Ha "Ignoring Women in Their 20s and 30s, Only Chasing Power"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The debate over the 'abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF)' continues daily among opposition presidential candidates.

On the 8th, Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, proposed reviewing the purpose, functions, and organization of MOGEF and reorganizing it into a 'Gender Equality Family Ministry.' Following this, Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Province, stated that MOGEF is not the first government department or public enterprise that should be abolished. On the other hand, former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min and lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung, both presidential candidates, still advocate for its abolition.

On the same day, Yoon said on her Facebook, "I used to think that since MOGEF overlaps a lot with other ministries organized by function, it should be reorganized into a presidential commission to promote gender equality principles from a whole-government perspective."

However, Yoon emphasized, "I do not think the problem will change significantly just because the Ministry of Women is abolished and a presidential commission is established, as some claim. Since the pool of experts is limited, people from women's groups similar to the current ones will likely take over. Ultimately, the issue is how to check and discern these people so they do not impose twisted ideas on youth, detached from society's universal ethical sense." She added, "In the end, it is a matter of transparency in budget execution and accountability of the responsible public officials," and argued, "The only way to prevent public officials from fearing those close to high-ranking figures is to clearly set and enforce standards and responsibilities."

Yoon reiterated the necessity of MOGEF. She said, "As social heterogeneity intensifies, the need for systematic support for youth, multicultural families, and victims of sexual violence is increasing," adding, "These are tasks that were previously under other ministries but did not function properly. For this reason, most OECD countries have separate ministries for these tasks." She also stated, "We must thoroughly evaluate past project outcomes, boldly eliminate overlapping or conflicting tasks with other ministries, and focus on the essence of 'gender equality' beyond women, faithfully supporting youth and all forms of families."

Governor Won also wrote on Facebook that "MOGEF deserves criticism for its perception of the power-based sexual crimes of Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don, referring to the victims as 'complainants' and calling it an 'opportunity for gender-sensitivity group learning,'" but he suggested, "The abolition of MOGEF should not be a priority for the next government."

Won said, "Approaching issues by easily saying we should abolish the Coast Guard or the Land and Housing Corporation (LH) when something happens undermines trust in alternative forces," and added, "The party leader should not force presidential candidates to abolish MOGEF."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

He further stated, "If abolishing MOGEF is interpreted as hostility toward women, it is criticized as low political awareness, but Representative Lee Jun-seok must acknowledge that this perception exists in reality," and pointed out, "It is also unwise to lead with MOGEF abolition among many issues, creating concerns about alienating the still insufficient support of women in their 20s at Ewha."

Former lawmaker Yoo, who had called for the 'abolition of MOGEF,' reiterated his stance on the same day. On his Facebook, he said, "Many people showed interest in my pledge to abolish MOGEF and create a Gender Equality Committee chaired directly by the president," and questioned, "Even if MOGEF wants to protect victims of sexual violence, it has no means to do so. What can MOGEF do to eradicate and severely punish these heinous crimes against women, such as the recent sexual assault by a superior in the Air Force, the secondary harm, and the tragic death of the victim?"

Lawmaker Ha also criticized, saying, "They ignored women in their 20s and 30s but immediately handled matters chasing power," accusing MOGEF of slow response to the sexual harassment case of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and providing illegal direct and indirect support, including anonymous donations to fake witness Yoon Ji-oh.

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