Lee Jae-myung: "Did men suffer from the 'Female Quota System'? Men are actually the ones benefiting"

Meeting Local Youth in Busan, Lee
"Almost No Quotas for Women"
"Men Benefit More in Civil Service Exams"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is having a conversation with young people from Busan at a studio in Busan Port, Yeongdo-gu, Busan, on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, said regarding the gender quota system, "there is actually almost no quota system specifically for women."

On the 13th, the second day of his visit to the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, Lee met with young people from Busan on the 'Maetabus' (a weekly bus for public livelihood), which was set up in a studio format, and cited the gender quota system as an example, saying, "The more information a society has, the more it seems that only the truth circulates, but in reality, there are many myths."

Lee said, "Men in their 20s say they have been harmed by the gender quota system and call for its abolition, but in reality, there is almost no quota system for women; most are gender quotas," adding, "It is about ensuring that a particular gender does not fall below 30%, but in actual civil service exams, men often benefit."

He explained that although the number of women who pass the civil service exam exceeds that of men, to maintain gender balance, women with higher scores are often rejected while men are selected.

Lee pointed out, "Even though this is the reality, many (men) think they are being harmed, and when someone says they want to abolish it, they applaud. This is one of the representative myths."

Recently, Lee has been actively trying to capture the votes of the relatively weak 2030 generation. On the 10th, seemingly conscious of the male votes in their 20s and 30s, he shared a community post on Facebook that expressed opposition to feminist policies and encouraged people to read it together.

However, some criticized this, saying that Lee is promoting anti-feminism to gain male votes while neglecting women. Lee's recent remarks on the gender quota system are interpreted as an attempt to soothe the sentiments of women, especially young women in their 20s and 30s, whose support is weak.

During his visit to Ulsan the day before, Lee also met with young people and said, "If you look at the entire life cycle of men and women, it is true that women suffer too much," adding, "Their wages are only 60% of men's, promotions are difficult, and if they take a career break to raise children and care for them, it is hard to return." He continued, "It is necessary to compensate for that and balance equality. That is what feminism does."

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