{"id":2196085,"date":"2022-05-12T19:02:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T10:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2196085"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:24","slug":"how-can-south-korea-matter-more-in-the-world-by-improving-gender-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/05\/how-can-south-korea-matter-more-in-the-world-by-improving-gender-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"How can South Korea matter more in the world? By improving gender equality."},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the most heated pledges South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made on the campaign trail was to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF). While his transition committee appeared to <\/span>walk back<\/span><\/a> that pledge after Yoon\u2019s election win, the new president\u2019s commitment to gender equality and representation remains unconvincing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But South Korea cannot become the \u201c<\/span>global pivotal state<\/span><\/a>\u201d Yoon has promised without addressing the massive economic and social challenges that half of the country faces every day. In nearly every measurable way, South Korea ranks at or near the bottom in terms of <\/span>gender equality<\/span><\/a> in the developed world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A significant development throughout South Korea\u2019s recent presidential election was the increased polarization and politicization of <\/span>gender issues<\/span><\/a>, partially driven by Yoon\u2019s laconic, <\/span>two-word statement<\/span><\/a> calling for the gender ministry\u2019s abolition in January. His rationale, he later <\/span>explained<\/span><\/a>, was that the name of the ministry in Korean \u2013 Yeoseonggajokbu (\uc5ec\uc131\uac00\uc871\ubd80) \u2013 reinforces the gender divide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yoon successfully <\/span>courted young male voters<\/span><\/a> who felt overlooked by existing gender equality policies, arguing that many young voters view them as unfair and conferring \u201c<\/span>preferential treatment<\/span><\/a>\u201d to women. Exit polls reflected the salience of <\/span>gender polarization<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0 58.7% of men in their 20s voted for Yoon, while 58% of women in the same age group opted for Lee Jae-myung, who lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Yoon is not the first South Korean politico to pledge to abolish the MOGEF. The ministry was <\/span>renamed and re-grouped three times<\/span><\/a> in the first nine years after its founding in 2001, due in part to then-President Lee Myung-bak\u2019s desire to <\/span>scrap it<\/span><\/a>. Women\u2019s rights groups and the Democratic Party have stood in the way of such efforts, however. <\/span><\/p>\n