Gender Equality Ministry Catalyst for Womens Rights

Gender Equality Minister
Paik Hee-young

By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

The role of the Ministry of Gender Equality has often been questioned due to its affairs overlapping with those of other ministries.

For example, the law involving minor sex criminals is covered by the Ministry of Justice; the policy increasing the number of jobs for women is also dealt with by the Ministry of Labor; and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is responsible for a project encouraging more female students to advance into the male-dominant engineering fields.

This is why only 0.03 percent of the total government budget, or 300 trillion won per year, is allocated to the gender equality ministry, which was established in 2001.

However, new Gender Equality Minister Paik Hee-young believes her organization is a must for the development of Korea.

“There are not many affairs that are solely our responsibility and we have a small budget. But our role is to help other ministries consider gender equality when making policies and suggest to them ideas that can protect and improve women’s rights,” Paik told reporters during her first press meeting last Wednesday.

“If Korea doesn’t have a gender equality ministry, it would be a very worrisome situation,” she added.

The minister has proposed the removal or extension of the statute of limitations on minor sex criminals, which ranges from one to 25 years depending on the seriousness of the crime. Government officials are moving to revise related laws according to her proposal.

Paik also stressed that Korea still has only a small number of women among high-ranking officials in government bodies and corporations. In addition, she vowed to introduce “flexible” jobs so that more mothers can work while caring for their families.

Paik, an expert on food and nutrition, is a graduate of Seoul National University (SNU) and Mississippi University for Women. She also earned a master’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr

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