By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Gender Equality may play a bigger role in the future by taking over part of the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, according to ruling party lawmakers Sunday.

The governing Grand National Party (GNP) and the government are considering transferring the jurisdiction of childcare, children, and adolescent health and multi-cultural affairs from the health ministry to the gender ministry, they said.

If confirmed, the proposal may stir up controversy over policy inconsistency, given that the gender ministry barely survived last year during government restructuring.

Last year, many presidential transition committee members questioned the need for the gender ministry, which was established during the previous government, and tried to get rid of it. But vehement objections to the plan by women's groups saved the ministry.

A GNP lawmaker said on condition of anonymity that party legislators and officials from the gender ministry agreed last week on the transfer of jurisdiction at a policy consultation meeting.

Under the proposal, the gender ministry will oversee overall family and gender affairs, while the health ministry will focus on welfare policies.

The proposal signifies that the health ministry will be scaled back, while the gender equality ministry will be empowered with additional funding from taking over the budget for childcare and adolescent children.

To make that happen, the National Assembly has to pass a revision bill ― chances of which are uncertain as opposition parties have not made public their stance on the restructuring plan.

GNP lawmakers and officials from the gender ministry shared the need for strengthening the ministry over the long term.

Both agreed that the ministry will take over birthrate policies sometime in the future.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr