People Power Party and Justice Party Clash Over 'Abolition of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family'... Democratic Party Takes a Wait-and-See Approach

Yoon Seok-yeol Faces Off with Sim Sang-jung on Facebook
Jang Ye-chan: "Must Defeat Cleanly"
Ryu Ho-jeong: "Inciting Hate and Gender Conflict"
Ruling Party Judges No Benefit in Joining Conflict

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate (right), and Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party's presidential candidate, are shaking hands at the 2022 Small and Medium Business New Year's Meeting held at the Korea Federation of SMEs building in Yeouido, Seoul, on January 5, 2022. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Jinyoung Jeon] The Justice Party has strongly opposed Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, over his pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, making this issue a major topic in the presidential election landscape. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea appears to be stepping back from the issue of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is seen as a kind of 'gender issue.' Simply put, the pledge to abolish the ministry targets men in their 20s, but supporting it could mean losing female support, which seems to be taken into consideration.

On the 10th, Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong appeared on a radio show and argued for strengthening the ministry's functions rather than abolishing it. Lawmaker Ryu said, "It doesn't seem appropriate to say that because there were mistakes, the entire department should be abolished." She criticized Yoon's recent brief Facebook message announcing the 'abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family,' saying, "I think it is inciting hatred or gender conflict," and added, "It seems more like a tactic than a policy."

On the other hand, Jang Ye-chan, head of the People Power Party's Youth Headquarters, said the ministry produces 'misandrist' education and is an ideology-based department rather than a functional one, so its abolition is urgent. Jang said, "There are many projects indiscriminately supported by various women's civic groups, so it should be thoroughly dismantled and restarted from zero." Meanwhile, there were testimonies within the People Power Party's election headquarters that Yoon's pledge to abolish the ministry was not coordinated within the internal system before being announced. Won Hee-ryong, head of the People Power Party's Policy Headquarters, said on a radio show that day, "It was not done by our policy headquarters. I did not know at the time of (Yoon's) announcement."

Yoon's campaign headquarters has recently focused on simple and straightforward pledge announcements using social media, which many interpret as reflecting the intentions of party leader Lee Jun-seok. In the past, there was much criticism of the campaign committee being run by 'Yoon Hae-gwan (Yoon Seok-yeol's core associates),' but after the dissolution and reorganization of the campaign committee, it appears to have shifted to a form that heavily relies on Lee for message management.

Meanwhile, regarding the controversy over abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Democratic Party is showing an attitude of stepping aside from the controversy. They have decided not to make any official responses such as campaign headquarters statements. Kwon Hyuk-gi, deputy head of the campaign's public relations department, said, "We will not engage in issues that are likely to drag the election into a mudslinging fight, such as color politics or amplified controversies." Candidate Lee attempted to conduct interviews with the YouTube channels Cereal and Dotface but canceled after criticism of it being a 'feminism broadcast,' then later appeared again on Dotface. A Democratic Party official emphasized in a phone call that day, "The candidate's intention is to gather stories from all 2030s regardless of gender."

Yeom Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, said, "Candidate Lee was one of the candidates who actively expressed interest in men in their 20s, but it seems the Democratic Party has shifted its target to the more supportive female consolidation side," adding, "However, they are cautious and concerned because provoking men in their 20s could lead to a landslide vote for the opposing party."

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