Over half of Koreans support abolishing gender ministry: poll
A sign for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family at the government complex in Seoulis seen in this photo taken Jan. 10. Yonhap
A little over half of South Koreans support abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as proposed by the main opposition party's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, a poll showed Wednesday.
According to the Realmeter survey of 1,011 adults, Monday and Tuesday, 51.9 percent said they supported the dissolution of the ministry in charge of women's affairs, while 38.5 percent opposed it. The remaining 9.6 percent said they were undecided on the issue.
By gender, 64 percent of male respondents supported the abolition, while 47.1 percent of female respondents were against the closure.
Age-wise, 60.8 percent of those aged 18 to 29 and 56.7 percent of respondents in their 30s were in favor of the abolishment. In contrast, 44.1 percent of respondents in their 40s and 39.7 percent of respondents in their 50s were against it.
The poll showed 79 percent of supporters of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and 73.3 percent of supporters of the minor opposition People's Party supported the closure of the ministry, while 62 percent of supporters of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and 79.9 percent of supporters of the minor progressive Justice Party opposed it.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
The abolishment of the gender ministry became a hot issue in the presidential race after Yoon of the PPP pledged he would get rid of it in an apparent attempt to woo male voters in their 20s. (Yonhap)