Yoon Puts Forward Key Pledge to Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality and Family... Ruling Party Urged to Apologize Amid 'Ottoke' and 'Illegal Filming' Controversies

Repeated Emphasis on Core Pledge to Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality
Democratic Party Urges Improvement in Women's Awareness on Employment Inequality
Campaign Book 'Ottoke' Sparks Controversy Over 'Illegal Filming' Allegations
First Whistleblower of 'n-bunbang' Demands "Apology"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is appealing for support from voters during a campaign rally held on the afternoon of the 17th at the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has announced plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), drawing criticism from women's groups. Furthermore, controversy has arisen over the inclusion of misogynistic phrases in his campaign manifesto, raising concerns about a lack of gender sensitivity. Additionally, a camp official is under investigation for secretly filming women, intensifying criticism that the candidate lacks understanding of both his campaign promises and women's rights amid the pledge to abolish MOGEF.

Recently, Candidate Yoon repeatedly emphasized that abolishing MOGEF is a core election pledge. This is interpreted as a response to speculation that the pledge might have been withdrawn and criticism from women's groups, reaffirming that it remains a key promise.

On the 15th, Yoon stressed on his Facebook, "(Abolishing MOGEF) is indeed a core pledge." When controversy arose in male-centered online communities claiming that the 'abolition of MOGEF' pledge was missing from Yoon's election materials, he appeared to step in to clarify.

Yoon stated, "There are rumors that the abolition of MOGEF has been withdrawn from my pledges. This is not true. Last Sunday (the 13th), I officially submitted the top 10 presidential pledges, including the abolition of MOGEF, to the National Election Commission. Some media pointed out that this pledge was missing from election materials distributed to households, but this is merely a tailored strategy based on the nature of the promotional methods," he explained.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, announced the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as a campaign pledge on January 7.
Photo by Yoon's Facebook capture.

On the 7th of last month, Yoon announced the seven-character pledge "abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family," drawing criticism from political circles and women's groups. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, expressed concerns about "stoking gender and generational conflicts and dividing the people." Critics pointed out that the pledge lacked detailed explanation and seemed to target messages likely to appeal to a specific gender.

The 'Women Making Peace' organization also demanded the withdrawal of the pledge on the 10th, stating, "Despite limited personnel and budget, MOGEF has made significant contributions to improving women's rights through achievements such as the introduction of the three maternal protection laws, supplementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, the Anti-Prostitution Act, and the abolition of the family registry system."

In response, Candidate Yoon explained that he intends to transform the ministry into one focusing on individual discrimination rather than gender-based discrimination. In an interview released on the 7th, he said, "There is no longer structural gender discrimination. Discrimination is an individual issue," adding, "Men can be the disadvantaged, and women can be the disadvantaged. The idea that women are treated unequally and men receive superior treatment is a thing of the past."

In response to Yoon's remarks, the Democratic Party criticized them as sexist. On the 8th, Jung Chun-sook, head of the Democratic Party's Women's Committee, said, "While the whole world is striving to eliminate structural gender discrimination, only one presidential candidate in South Korea denies it. This is truly shameful," adding, "Why do we need a political leader who perceives deeply rooted gender discrimination as an individual problem to be solved? It is tantamount to telling everyone to fend for themselves."

She continued, "In 2021, South Korea ranked 102nd out of 156 countries in the Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum, first among OECD countries in gender wage gap, last for nine consecutive years in the OECD glass ceiling index, and has 1.5 million women who have experienced career breaks," pointing out, "The level of women's advancement into senior positions is also serious."

As the controversy grew, Yoon attended a policy discussion at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and told reporters, "I did not say there is no structural gender discrimination." He explained, "That comment came up because of the abolition of MOGEF. Our society has continuously worked on this, so we need to focus more on individual inequalities and discrimination. MOGEF has fulfilled its mission for the times, and we need to respond to inequality and discrimination in new ways," he clarified.

Photo by Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party presidential candidate, captured from the press release announcing judicial reform pledges on the 14th

Amid criticism from the ruling party that Yoon lacks understanding of the realities women face, such as employment inequality, controversy erupted when a judicial reform pledge press release from Yoon's camp included the misogynistic expression 'Ottoke.' 'Ottoke' is a phonetic spelling of 'eotteoke' (meaning 'what to do') and carries a derogatory connotation implying incompetence of female police officers at crime scenes.

On the 15th, both the Democratic Party and the Justice Party sharply criticized Yoon's gender divisiveness as excessive. Baek Hye-ryun, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party's election committee, said in a briefing, "Are you trying to profit again by riding the wave of 'gender conflict' just because your approval ratings are falling?"

Oh Seung-jae, spokesperson for the Justice Party's election committee, stated, "It is truly shocking that the main opposition party is openly encouraging 'female police hatred.'" In response to the backlash, the People Power Party announced, "The term was immediately deleted from the press release, and the person responsible was dismissed."

Meanwhile, a secretary A, who managed Yoon's message, was booked on charges of illegally filming a woman's body. According to reports, the man under investigation was affiliated with the office of Representative Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party, and A was dispatched to work in Yoon's campaign message team. After the incident, A was dismissed upon his own request and currently denies all related charges.

Voices calling for an apology are emerging regarding the series of controversies involving Yoon's camp, including the explanation of the MOGEF abolition pledge, misogynistic expressions in the manifesto, and illegal filming of women. Park Ji-hyun, a Democratic Party digital sexual crime eradication special committee member and former activist of 'Chujeokdan Bulkkot,' which first reported the 'Nth Room' case, linked Yoon's MOGEF abolition pledge and A's sexual crime charges, saying, "Is it really a coincidence that the person who illegally filmed women's bodies spoke about abolishing MOGEF, which protects victims? It is truly shocking."

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