[Exclusive] Former Ministry of Gender Equality Official Appointed as Head of Asia's First UN Women Gender Equality Center

Jeongshim Lee, Former Head of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Appointed as Director of UN Women Gender Equality Center
Webpage to Launch in October, Opening Ceremony Scheduled for Q4

Lee Jeong-sim, former Director of Youth and Family Policy at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (Photo by Yonhap News)

An official from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been appointed as the head of the UN Women Gender Equality Center, the first UN women-related organization established in Asia and the first of its kind in South Korea. Due to delays in the launch schedule, the office is expected to open in Seoul within this year.

According to women's organizations on the 27th, Lee Jeong-sim, former Director of the Youth and Family Policy Office at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, has been appointed as the head of the soon-to-be-launched UN Women Gender Equality Center. The hiring process was completed eight months after the job announcement was posted in January.

UN Women plans to launch the UN Women Gender Equality Center’s webpage in Korea in October and proceed with the appointment of the center head within the year. The office will be located at the Seoul Global Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Lee, who was hired as the center head, has experience working on secondment at the UN Women organization and served as Director of the Youth and Family Policy Office until July. Previously, she held positions such as Family Policy Officer, Director of the Rights Promotion Bureau, Head of the Youth Policy Division at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Administrative Officer at the Office of the Presidential Secretary for Women and Family Affairs. A Ministry of Gender Equality and Family official stated, "Since the related procedures are being processed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we cannot disclose information about the head of the institution."

The UN Women Gender Equality Center is the first international women-related organization established in South Korea, aiming to promote gender equality through protecting women's human rights and empowering women. It supports government policy development for public officials, experts, and activists involved in gender equality policies, and assists in research and the construction of knowledge databases (DB) in related fields. The center analyzes gender-related data and builds statistics. Additionally, it plans to invite gender equality experts and activists from the Asia-Pacific region to conduct training, workshops, and develop related educational content.

The UN Women Gender Equality Center was created after UN Women proposed its establishment to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2019. The proposal requested the center be set up in South Korea to share Korea’s gender equality policies and experiences with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family supported the establishment by signing a memorandum of understanding in June last year.

However, some in the women's community have criticized the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for being passive in promoting the center since the new government took office. A women's organization representative said, "During the previous administration, the establishment of the UN Women center was highlighted as an achievement, emphasizing South Korea as a leading country in gender equality policies, but since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol government, there has been almost no promotion."

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