"‘Established Women’s Protection Agencies’ vs ‘The Issue Is Operation, Not the System’... Debates Over the Abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Expand"

Yoo Seung-min "Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Create Gender Equality Committee Chaired by President"
Yoon Hee-sook "Accurate Diagnosis Needed to Solve Problems"
Won Hee-ryong "Do Not Agree with Abolishing Ministry of Gender Equality and Family at This Time"

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, has proposed the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) as a campaign pledge, sparking mixed reactions within the political sphere. Supporters of the abolition criticize MOGEF for failing to fulfill its role and argue that it should be abolished rather than protecting only entrenched privileged women. On the other hand, some have criticized the discussion as unwise.

On the 8th, Yoo posted on his Facebook titled "I reiterate my promise to abolish MOGEF," opening with, "Many people have shown interest in my pledge to abolish MOGEF and establish a Gender Equality Committee chaired directly by the president."

He introduced and directly rebutted criticisms he received after announcing the pledge to abolish MOGEF. Regarding the criticism that the pledge is "divisive politics that stokes gender conflict," Yoo said, "Having the president serve as the control tower for gender equality across all ministries can do a much better job than MOGEF."

In response to the accusation of "populism riding on hatred of a particular gender," he countered, "I have consistently advocated for the abolition of MOGEF since the 2017 presidential election. This is not a policy suddenly established this summer." He then questioned, "Is expanding MOGEF populism, or is abolishing MOGEF populism?"

To the criticism that "without MOGEF, victims of sexual and domestic violence would have nowhere to turn," he cited the sexual crime cases involving former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, both from the Democratic Party, and pointed out, "MOGEF ignored the human rights of female victims and repeatedly committed secondary harm."

Furthermore, he argued, "Sexual and domestic violence crimes should be properly addressed by reforming the police and prosecution; what can MOGEF do?" He reiterated, "If I become president, I will abolish MOGEF and personally ensure true gender equality where no gender is discriminated against."

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party who declared her candidacy for the presidential election. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker who declared his presidential candidacy, also agreed with abolishing MOGEF, saying, "MOGEF, which ignored women in their 20s and 30s and only protected privileged 586 women, should be abolished."

In a post on his Facebook that day, Ha said, "Did MOGEF really protect female victims? On the contrary, it thoroughly ignored the vulnerable women in their 20s and 30s and only protected privileged women. Women in their 20s and 30s, who were exposed to secondary harm, were neglected, but when it came to pursuing power, MOGEF immediately handled the matter. Therefore, MOGEF was essentially an institution protecting privileged women."

Kim Woong, also from the same party, criticized, "The public's support for abolishing MOGEF is not because the public is misogynistic. It is anger over the unfairness and corruption shown by MOGEF." He added, "How can MOGEF, which ignored the victims of Park Won-soon and supported Yoon Ji-oh and Yoon Mi-hyang, talk about correcting discrimination?"

He continued, "Correcting discrimination is a task for all ministries. Why should only MOGEF solve women's issues? Moreover, when actual discrimination occurred, MOGEF ignored it; what right do they have now to talk about supporting victims?"

However, there are also opinions urging caution regarding the abolition of MOGEF. People Power Party lawmaker Cho Soo-jin said, "Fundamental problems with MOGEF's functions have been raised during the Moon Jae-in administration. But like many systems, the root cause is not the system itself but its operation." She added, "The president appointed underqualified ministers, and the ministers tried to appease the president and ruling party, creating the illusion that the system itself was flawed." She emphasized, "Let's rename the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to something like the Ministry of Gender Equality and readjust its functions and roles."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook also drew a line on the abolition theory, saying, "To solve the problem, accurate diagnosis and cool-headed solutions are necessary."

Through her Facebook, she pointed out, "I do not think that abolishing the Ministry of Women and establishing a presidential committee, as some claim, will significantly change the problem. Ultimately, it is a matter of transparency in budget execution and accountability of the responsible officials." She proposed, "I suggest reorganizing it from scratch into the 'Ministry of Gender Equality and Family'."

Some also pointed out that the pledge to abolish MOGEF is unwise. Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong said, "I do not agree with some presidential candidates who are making the abolition of MOGEF an issue at this point." He added, "From the perspective of government efficiency, MOGEF is not the first government ministry or public enterprise that should be abolished."

He continued, "The party leader should not force presidential candidates to abolish MOGEF," criticizing, "It is also unwise to prioritize abolishing MOGEF among so many issues and risk alienating the support of 'Itaewon women' (women in their 20s), who we still lack support from."

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