South Korea’s ‘antifeminist’ Yoon faces uphill task to abolish women’s ministry
- Scrapping the Ministry of Gender Equality would require legislation to reorganise the government – a tricky ask as the president-elect does not have a majority
- With local elections coming up in June, it’s unlikely Yoon’s party would want to expend political capital on a bruising legislative fight and has put the issue ‘on hold’, observer says
South Korea’s antifeminist president-elect has vowed to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality. But actually getting rid of it will be tricky, experts say, and the incoming administration is already backing off its promise.
Since it was set up in 2001, the department has been a driver of social progress for South Korean women – for example, making it possible for single mothers to register their kids in their name.
Along the way, it has also become a flashpoint in South Korea’s increasingly bitter debates over sexism and gender, with detractors such as incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol claiming it is an obsolete backwater of “radical feminism”.
The ministry’s supporters, however, point to a track record of welfare policies that benefit a diverse cross-section of society – from teenage runaways to the children of North Korean defectors.
“My ex just moved out one day and never came back,” said single mother Jin Mi-ae, adding that her former husband refused to contribute financially to their child’s upbringing.
Failing to pay child support was criminalised in South Korea only last year. Many eligible parents – mostly women – still do not receive it but thanks to the ministry’s efforts, there are now mechanisms in place to help.
Jin filed a case with the Child Support Agency – set up by the ministry in 2015 – and said its assistance was crucial in her quest to get her ex-husband to contribute child support.