Ministry of Gender Equality and Family: "Minister Kim Hyun-sook Did Not Camp at Jamboree Due to Personal Threats and Harassment"

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook explained that her stay at a national park accommodation with air conditioning, instead of the Saemangeum campsite during the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, was due to "threats endangering her personal safety."

Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is entering the Saemangeum Jamboree Emergency Response Team meeting held on the 9th in the situation room of the Government Seoul Office. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

On the 20th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family released a statement saying, "At the time, Minister Kim considered camping, but due to threats endangering her personal safety and being under police protection, concerns were raised that camping could increase risks, so she did not camp." They added, "We regret that she was unable to camp together with the scouts who were exposed to discomfort."

During the Jamboree, controversy arose as heatstroke cases surged due to the heatwave. On the 3rd, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo instructed Minister Kim Hyun-sook of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the overseeing ministry of the Jamboree organizing committee, to "stay on-site until the end of the event and ensure the safety of 43,000 participants from 158 countries."

However, from the 4th, the day after the instruction, until the 9th before moving from Saemangeum to the Seoul metropolitan area, Minister Kim stayed at the Byeonsanbando Ecological Exploration Center accommodation of the Jeonbuk Buan National Park Corporation, not on-site. At that time, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Governor of Jeonbuk Kim Kwan-young stayed on-site with the scout participants.

In response to criticism of Minister Kim’s actions, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "Minister Kim Hyun-sook stayed on-site throughout the event period held in Saemangeum (August 1?8), inspecting facilities such as the Jamboree hospital, hub clinic, restrooms, shower rooms, logistics warehouse, staff dining hall, and main assembly hall, and did her best to ensure a safe event by addressing reported inconveniences." They emphasized, "In particular, immediate measures were taken on-site to improve hygiene facilities such as restrooms raised early in the event, expand medical staff at the Jamboree hospital to respond to heatstroke patients, and add Red Cross cooling vehicles to prepare for the heatwave."

The ministry also said, "At the Global Leader Center within the campsite, Minister Kim participated in the World Scout Federation representatives meeting, where all participating countries gathered, and as the government representative, she collected the federation’s requests. From August 1, she regularly discussed improvements with the World Scout Federation executive board to ensure government actions were implemented, and she did not leave the site throughout the event."

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