Minister reaffirms abolition of gender equality ministry

By Lee Hyo-jin

Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook said a task force will be launched to seek ways on how to abolish the ministry, thus moving toward fulfilling President Yoon Suk-yeol's campaign pledge.

“As I have said during the parliamentary hearing, considering the changes in the policy environment, it is clear that the ministry should be abolished,” she said during a press conference, Thursday, the first such event since she took office in May.

She went on to say that an internal task force will be launched on Friday, led by a senior official in charge of promoting gender equality, in order to discuss specific ways on how to “transform” the ministry so that it can better fulfill its role and responsibilities.

“The task force will hold meetings on a regular basis and gather opinions from various experts on youth, women, and family policies. We will also look into government agencies overseas that are similar to ours and monitor their policies,” she said.

After her ministry comes up with measures on how to “reform” the ministry, the Ministry of Interior and Safety will introduce revisions to the Government Organization Act which would then be reviewed at the National Assembly, she said. But she added that no timeline has been fixed yet.

Kim also said the ministry will strengthen networking with other government bodies such as the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Employment Labor and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to prevent a vacuum in the policies carried out by the ministry.

Meanwhile, Kim vowed to increase efforts in resolving gender conflict among the younger generations, which has risen as a thorny issue in recent years in Korean society.

“We plan to launch an in-depth research to figure out the reasons behind the escalating gender conflicts. Moreover, we will hold a town hall meeting with young people in July to gather their opinions, while arranging meetings with ambassadors from Germany, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand to hear how they have handled similar issues in their countries,” she said.

When asked about her opinion on President Yoon's previous remarks that systemic gender discrimination does not exist currently in Korean society, Kim replied, “It does not seem appropriate to comment about the president's opinion.”

She gave a short response to a query about Yoon's male-dominated cabinet, saying, “I believe the president has picked people based on their professional ability.”

Currently, there are only three female ministers among 19 Cabinet members. Yoon recently nominated two more women for minister positions in education and health following criticisms over a lack of gender diversity.