[Bread-Baking Typewriter] 37 Years Through the Eyes of a Ministry Official: Stories of Fierce Policy Battles

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One of the main campaign pledges made by then-candidate Yoon Suk-yeol during the 20th presidential election was the abolishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (now the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs). Not only Yoon, but also figures from the political sphere such as those from the Lee Myung-bak administration, have repeatedly mentioned the abolition of this ministry, resulting in recurring debates about its existence. Due to the nature of its work, the ministry has frequently found itself at the center of gender conflicts. It has often faced criticism as a "ministry only for women" and has been the subject of misunderstandings that it "does nothing."

However, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs has played a variety of roles behind the scenes. In addition to policies for women, such as those addressing sexual violence and career interruptions, it has also been responsible for filling the gaps not covered by the existing welfare system, such as support for families, childcare for infants and young children, multicultural families, single-parent families, and youth outside the school system. These are areas that are not easily recognized by the public and, in many cases, have remained outside the realm of public attention. In fact, many ministry officials encountered in the field have been working diligently to ensure that single mothers, out-of-school youth, and marriage immigrants receive more welfare benefits.

Kim Sukja, the author of this book and former Director of Family Policy at the ministry, has been a key figure in advancing major welfare policies for 22 years, including childcare for infants and young children, the child care support service, and the Women’s Re-Employment Center. Beginning her public service career at Seoul City Hall, she was dispatched to the ministry following the transfer of childcare responsibilities, and remained there to complete the restructuring of the childcare budget. She later expanded the budget so that children attending private childcare centers could receive the same support as those in public facilities, and introduced an evaluation and certification system to improve the quality of childcare services.

Today, workplace childcare centers and child care support services, widely used by working mothers, have also developed thanks to her efforts. She helped to relax the installation standards for workplace childcare centers and expanded support for small and medium-sized enterprises, leading to the spread of these systems. The child care support service, introduced in 2007, has faced crises such as ministry transfers and budget cuts, but has continued to be supplemented and maintained.

However, she pointed out that in the process of policy discussion, the opinions of public officials familiar with the field were not sufficiently reflected, and that policies were sometimes distorted under the influence of politicians. Although the partial revision of the Child Care Support Act passed the National Assembly last year, marking some progress, she evaluates that the system still requires further improvement.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs has sometimes been marginalized in the policy-making process because its budget is smaller and its regulatory authority is more limited than other central government ministries. The author also confided that she experienced being excluded from meetings, repeated budget cuts, and the transfer of projects. Nevertheless, she did not give up and continued to seek solutions to complete these policies. Whenever problems arose, she visited the relevant ministries in person to persuade them of the necessity of these policies. She reflected that the driving force behind her efforts was the belief that "a system should not just exist, but must function according to the demands of the field."

This book is a record of the author’s experiences as a working mother raising three children and as a public official in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs. At the same time, it shines a light on the lives of public officials who continue to shape policy behind the scenes. As such efforts continue, the universal welfare of our society will become even more thorough and robust.

Civil Servants Have No Soul | Written by Kim Sukja | Book by Book | 288 pages

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