Minister Jeong Young-ae Directly Refutes 'Abolition of MOLEG' Theory: "Functions Should Be Expanded" (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Rejects Abolition at Second Half Work Plan Meeting
"Department Essential for Spreading Gender Equality Values and Addressing Discrimination and Violence Against Vulnerable Groups"
"Misunderstanding That Gender Hiring Quotas Are for Women; Men Often Benefit More"
Active Consideration of Renaming Ministry... Emphasizing 'Gender Equality' as Ministry's Goal

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, strongly refuted criticisms that the ministry stokes gender conflict and called for its abolition. On the contrary, she emphasized the need to expand its functions to support victims of gender violence, address career interruptions, gender wage gaps, and issues of child and adolescent sexual exploitation.

At a non-face-to-face second half business plan briefing on the 14th, Minister Jeong said, "A ministry dedicated to spreading the value of gender equality and addressing discrimination and violence against socially vulnerable groups is absolutely necessary, and its functions must be further expanded." This was a direct rebuttal to recent opposition presidential candidates who have been competing to mention the abolition of the ministry.

Dismissing Accusations of Fostering Gender Conflict... "Actively Considering Renaming the Ministry"

In response to accusations that it fuels gender conflict, the ministry emphasized that it promotes 'gender equality' and directly clarified public misunderstandings. A representative example is the 'female quota system.' Minister Jeong said, "It is difficult to say that the ministry fosters gender conflict. The government does not promote a female quota system in its work."

Minister Jeong explained, "The ongoing Gender Equality Employment Target System is often misunderstood as a system for women, but in fact, men benefit the most. If a specific gender falls below 30% of the planned number of recruits, additional candidates of the underrepresented gender can be selected. According to statistics from 2015 to 2019, over 70% (1,200 out of 1,600) of additional successful candidates for local government positions were men."

Minister Jeong explained that the ministry's direction now differs from its early days. While initially focusing on correcting discrimination against women, it now pursues 'gender equality,' including support policies for victims of sexual violence and marginalized groups regardless of gender.

She said, "During the first 10 years after the ministry's establishment, the women's policy paradigm was basically 'women's development,' but since then, it has shifted to realizing a substantive gender-equal society. In cases of digital sex crimes, when supporting the deletion of victim videos or counseling services, the victim's gender is not distinguished. I hope there is no misunderstanding that the ministry targets only women."

Additionally, she said they are actively considering renaming the ministry from 'Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' to something like the Ministry of Gender Equality. Minister Jeong said, "The ministry's English name is currently the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but if necessary for a society of coexistence and social participation, I think we can actively consider renaming it to the Ministry of Gender Equality or Ministry of Gender Equality and Inclusion rather than the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family."

Ministry's Achievements Include Abolishing the Hoju System and Improving Awareness of Sexual Violence

Minister Jeong cited the abolition of the Hoju system and the enactment of the Child Support Enforcement Act as the ministry's achievements, while noting the transfer of authority for investigating and recommending corrections for gender discrimination as a regret. She said, "The abolition of the Hoju system, which defined family members' status centered on the male head of household in 2005, the enactment of the Child Support Enforcement Act and operation of the enforcement agency, the establishment of a protection system for sexual violence victims, and raising social awareness of sexual violence are meaningful achievements."

She added, "In the early days, the ministry handled investigations and remedies for gender discrimination under the Gender Discrimination Prohibition Act, but in 2005, these responsibilities were transferred to the Human Rights Commission, resulting in the loss of authority to recommend corrections. This has limited not only victim protection but also preliminary investigations. Also, the ministry once handled childcare and care work, but after these were transferred to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, it became difficult to link family policies with these areas, which is regrettable."

Concerns were raised about the need to improve the gender data gap for better gender discrimination improvement. In response, Minister Jeong said, "When promoting policies from a gender-sensitive perspective, the most important tools are gender impact assessments, gender-responsive budgeting, sex-disaggregated statistics, and gender-sensitivity education. We have been working with Statistics Korea to expand the production of sex-disaggregated statistics." She added, "We will closely examine the production status of statistics by sector and cooperate with Statistics Korea to ensure detailed statistics by gender, age, and subgroups are available."

On this day, the ministry announced plans for the second half of the year to create a gender-equal labor environment by publishing gender wage gaps and gender representation among executives in listed companies and public institutions. They will also strengthen customized employment support such as vocational training for women who left the labor market due to COVID-19. A 'Gender Equality Forum' will be held to address perception gaps among youth regarding housing, jobs, and mutual respect.

The 'Act on the Prevention of Violence against Women' will be renamed the 'Act on the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence,' and responses to sexual violence in the public sector and digital sex crimes will be strengthened. Following the enforcement of the 'Stalking Crime Punishment Act' in October, follow-up measures and victim protection laws will be prepared, with legislation to be pursued from September. Additionally, the controversial 'Internet Game Shutdown System,' which restricts minors' use of 'Minecraft,' will be actively improved.

Minister Jeong said, "We will strive to actively reflect the voices of the youth generation, who are sensitive to gender equality and fairness issues, in policies. We will also actively respond to various newly emerging issues such as care gaps after COVID-19, problems faced by middle-aged women who are primarily responsible for care, and difficulties faced by young women."

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