Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Who is Korea's gender equality minister nominee?
Won Min-kyong, a board member of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, speaks to reporters at the commission’s Seoul office to share her views on the Military Human Rights Subcommittee, Feb. 18. Korea Times photo by Choi Ju-yeon
By Lee Hae-rin
Veteran women’s rights lawyer nominated to fill long-vacant post, signaling ministry's revival
Korea is poised to reinvigorate its long-stalled gender policy agenda after President Lee Jae Myung nominated Won Min-kyong, a veteran women’s rights activist and attorney, as the new minister of gender equality.
Won, 53, is a well-known family law expert with over 20 years of work on behalf of women and children. Her nomination comes after the Lee administration’s troubled first attempt to fill the post with Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Rep. Kang Sun-woo, who withdrew her candidacy last month amid abuse of power allegations and public criticism over her perceived insensitivity and lack of expertise on gender equality issues.
Won's selection comes after the ministry endured a 17-month leadership vacuum under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which initially pledged to abolish the ministry, then largely sidelined its functions.
Lee has pledged to restore the ministry, vowing not only to fill the ministerial void but to also expand it into a “Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Empowerment,” targeting deeper support for the marginalized and improved protection for young people and victims of violence.
Won’s advocacy began in the late 1990s, inspired by her pro bono legal counsel to women experiencing domestic abuse. After passing the national bar exam in 1998, she quickly became a leading advocate for women’s rights, representing victims in high-profile cases.
Won Min-kyong, left, speaks during a press conference at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's Seoul headquarters, Feb. 11, calling for the withdrawal of a commission resolution defending the martial law imposition by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol and for the commission chairperson’s resignation. Newsis
She has consistently pushed for legal reforms, calling out loopholes in the anti-prostitution law and urging stronger oversight in law enforcement statistics.
Between 2007 and 2009, Won chaired the women’s rights committee at Lawyers for a Democratic Society, known as Minbyun in Korean, joining numerous press conferences to call for robust protections for women and social minorities.
In 2009, she won the Future Women Leaders Award for her contributions to advancing gender awareness. More recently, Won has served as a policy adviser for the National Assembly’s gender equality panel, board member at Korea Women’s Hotline and adviser to the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center. Notably, she provided legal aid to victims of the notorious Telegram Nth Room sexual exploitation scandal.
Since her appointment to a nonexecutive board role at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in July 2023, Won has spoken out against decisions that she viewed as politically driven and contrary to the commission’s mandate.
She publicly opposed measures seen as shielding former President Yoon in criminal and impeachment proceedings and staged walkouts and press briefings to protest what she characterized as “anti-human rights practices.”
On Wednesday, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said while announcing her appointment that Won’s legal expertise and rights advocacy would help build “a more inclusive and unified republic.”
Accepting the nomination, Won vowed to “promote gender equality, supporting socially disadvantaged groups, such as victims of violence and families in crisis situations, and strengthening policies that foster the healthy growth of young people with utmost efforts.”