Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyong delivers the government’s remarks on the ministry’s 2025 fiscal-year budget settlement at a plenary meeting of the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee on Sept. 1.YONHAP
Shin Sung-sik
The author is a welfare specialist reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo.
Yong Hye-in’s withdrawal as nominee for minister of gender equality and family leaves several lessons. Being young does not necessarily mean thinking or acting young, and ambition can cloud judgment. It also confirms the risks of surprise appointments.
More troubling is the disrespect shown toward the Gender Equality Ministry. A prominent women’s rights figure lamented, “Now we know what the president thinks of the ministry. How little regard must he have had for it?” Yong’s case will go down as perhaps the most striking chapter in the ministry’s troubled history of ministerial appointments.
Expertise and integrity have often taken a back seat to political considerations, from rewarding allies to changing the political narrative. Kang Sun-woo, initially nominated as this administration’s first gender equality minister, withdrew amid allegations of mistreating aides. Before her, Kim Haeng stepped aside amid allegations involving the “parking” of shares, while Lee Choon-ho withdrew during the Lee Myung-bak administration over real estate speculation allegations. Former ministers Paik Hee-young, Cho Yoon-sun, Kim Hee-jung and Kang Eun-hee also had backgrounds far removed from the ministry’s core areas.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and politicians Yoo Seung-min, Ha Tae-kyung and Lee Jun-seok championed abolishing the former Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying it exacerbated gender conflict. The ministry’s budget this year is 2 trillion won ($1.47 billion), which is just 0.27 percent of the national budget. Its small size has made it too easy to treat lightly.
When the second Cabinet reshuffle was announced, I was surprised. The rationale behind changes at five ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, was understandable. But replacing Won Min-kyong was unexpected. It looked like a dismissal, yet no convincing reason came to mind.
Won Min-kyong ranks among the better-regarded recent ministers. Women’s organizations strongly supported her nomination last August. The Korean Women’s Associations United said she had “sufficient qualifications and capabilities.” She is a respected lawyer who has worked for more than 20 years to protect women’s rights, according to another women’s rights figure.
Her record includes serving as a nonstanding commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, a board member of Korea Women’s Hotline and chair of the women’s rights committee at Lawyers for a Democratic Society.
At her confirmation hearing, Won was asked about referring to the victims in sexual misconduct cases involving former mayors Park Won-soon and Oh Keo-don as “people claiming victimhood.” She responded unequivocally that referring to victims by another term was inappropriate. Asked about former lawmaker Yoon Mee-hyang’s embezzlement of donations, she said she respected the Supreme Court’s guilty verdict.
The opposition raised objections over issues including a past false-address registration for her child’s school admission and her progressive views on an antidiscrimination law. Still, her confirmation hearing report was adopted with bipartisan agreement.
Won has since received generally favorable reviews, including for rebuilding ties with women’s groups. She pushed for the introduction of the abortion pill Mifegyne, launched a menstrual-product initiative and responded to victims of violence. She also moved quickly against Google over the disclosure of sexual violence victims’ information.
She was once rebuked by President Lee Jae Myung after deciding to retain 14 as the age threshold below which minors are exempt from criminal responsibility. But that hardly seems grounds for dismissal.
The Blue House is now searching for a replacement. Vetting and confirmation proceedings will take considerable time. The parliamentary audit, finalization of next year’s budget and revisions to major laws lie ahead. A ministry rarely moves decisively when its minister is already on the way out.
Aesop told of a dog crossing a stream with meat in its mouth. Seeing its reflection, it mistook the reflected meat for a bigger piece, opened its mouth to seize it and lost what it already had.
A successor might prove better, but the appointment could also go wrong. Won has earned reasonably favorable reviews across ideological lines. Keeping a minister who has already proved herself deserves serious consideration.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
