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Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min speaks during a briefing on the ministry's government restructuring plan held at Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Newsis

Interior ministry unveils plan to shake up Cabinet ministries, which includes establishment of ministry for overseas Koreans

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government is materializing its plan to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, despite criticisms from women's rights groups and opposition parties who worry that the move will undermine gender equality efforts.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety unveiled a plan to shake up Cabinet ministries, Thursday, which includes a plan to abolish the gender equality ministry and transfer of its functions to the Ministry of Health and Welfare by creating a department there in charge of family and gender equality affairs.

"Abolishment of the gender ministry was one of the main pledges of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. It is time for the country to shift its focus in achieving gender equality for both men and women, moving on from the paradigm which concentrated only on resolving discrimination against women," Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said during a briefing on the reform plan.

The proposed plan also included the launch of a new government agency for overseas Koreans, with an aim to support some 7.32 million ethnic Koreans living in other countries. The new organization will be set up as a state-run agency under the Minister of Foreign Affairs and run policies such as enhancing networks among overseas Koreans.

The government will also elevate the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to a cabinet-level ministry from the current vice-ministry level, seeking to improve benefits and treatment for retired soldiers and veterans.

However, plans to create a new space agency and another new organization dedicated to immigration policies, both of which were among Yoon's campaign pledges, were not included in Thursday's announcement.

The ministry noted that it will draw up blueprints to launch the agencies by the end of the year.

But it remains to be seen whether the ministry's reform plan will gain approval from the National Assembly, as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has expressed concerns on abolishing the gender ministry.

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family office in Seoul / Korea Times photo by Hong In-taek

"We have delivered serious concerns that its negotiating power with other ministries could weaken if the gender minister position is downgraded to a vice-minister level," DPK spokesperson Rep. Oh Yeong-hwan said Wednesday.

Oh also said his party "does not insist on keeping the ministry's name 'Gender Equality and Family,'" but views that an independent ministry on gender equality is still necessary to address repeated crimes against women, such as the recent murder of a woman at Sindang Station.

President Yoon had pledged during the election campaign to close down the ministry, which he viewed is no longer necessary in Korea where "structural gender discrimination does not exist."

While the idea had garnered support from young male voters, it has drawn strong backlash from women's rights groups.

"Once the ministry is downgraded to a division under the health ministry, gender-related policies will clearly be put on the back burner. Without a cabinet member representing women's rights, related policies may be left off government agendas," Kwon Soo-hyun, director of Korea Women's Political Solidarity, told The Korea Times.

"The government's push for the abolishment of the ministry while ignoring growing calls from women to withdraw its plan only shows that it is backpedaling on women's rights."

The interior ministry's plan was sent to the National Assembly. It remains uncertain whether the government's draft will be approved or not.