Yoon's Side: "The Ministry of Gender Equality is a 'Male-Hating Department'... Must Be Cleanly Smashed"

Jang Ye-chan "We Must Break Down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Start from Zero"
Ryu Ho-jeong "It Is Inappropriate to Abolish the Entire Ministry"

Jang Ye-chan, head of the Youth Headquarters of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 1st Central Election Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 10th, the campaign team of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate who pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), argued that "(MOGEF) should be completely smashed and restarted from zero base."

Jang Ye-chan, head of the Youth Headquarters of the People Power Party's election campaign, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day and said, "MOGEF is effectively acting as a men's hatred department."

He stated, "MOGEF treats men as potential perpetrators of sex crimes, and even if men are misunderstood as perpetrators of sex crimes, they are obliged as citizens to work hard to explain themselves. This content was included in a YouTube gender-sensitivity education video produced by an institution under MOGEF."

He continued, "The problem with MOGEF is not about welfare projects or protecting the vulnerable. MOGEF is leading deep-rooted gender conflicts in areas such as gender-sensitivity education, which accounts for about 10-20% of its budget," and pointed out, "Moreover, there are many projects indiscriminately supported by various women's civic groups."

Jang also criticized, "Over the two years from 2020 to 2021, I have printed out MOGEF's misogynistic projects and gender-sensitivity education materials to the extent that A4 paper was insufficient."

He emphasized, "Among 43 central administrative agencies, only four ministerial-level agencies received the lowest grade: the Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Justice, MOGEF, and the Fair Trade Commission," adding, "In many ways, both public judgment and internal government judgment have been concluded. I believe they have already been judged."

Ryu Ho-jeong, Justice Party member. [Photo by Yonhap News]

In response, Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party lawmaker who appeared on the broadcast together, retorted, "I think candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, who spewed so many outrageous remarks that A4 paper was insufficient, should start over from the beginning."

She added, "In fact, if we say that a ministry must be closed unconditionally due to any mistake or error, there would be very few ministries that could remain open, including the National Assembly."

She also pointed out, "Rather, I think those who advocate for the abolition of MOGEF are the ones inciting hatred or gender conflicts," and said, "Clearly, MOGEF is doing certain things. There are definitely mistakes. I also think there are wrong parts. But claiming unconditional abolition based on that seems more like a tactic than a policy."

Ryu said, "The reality that women's labor is often contract work, low-wage, and housework has not changed much even in 2022. Perhaps because of this, South Korea consistently ranks low in various international gender equality indices," adding, "Gender gaps still exist, which means gender equality policies are necessary."

She continued, "MOGEF's budget this year is 1.4 trillion won, about 0.2% of the government budget. Looking at its work, it provides essential services to marginalized citizens such as low-income families, single-parent families, young couples, single-person households, strengthening social safety nets for out-of-school youth, and supporting female victims of violence," and argued, "Therefore, saying that the entire ministry should be abolished just because of some mistakes is inappropriate. The problem is rather the ministry's lack of authority and resources. It should be strengthened instead."

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