[Journalism Internship] Gender Ministry, presidential office move still hot topics of debate

Journalism Internship

Published: 20 Jul. 2022, 15:35 Updated: 20 Jul. 2022, 15:42

[Journalism Internship] Gender Ministry, presidential office move still hot topics of debate

“I feel like women are being discriminated against within our society,” said 16-year-old Lee Ui-yreong.

“Due to the prevalent stereotype that women are relatively weak compared to men, I have noticed that women are not equally employed to certain jobs as men are chosen in priority to women, even though two individuals from two different genders may be in the same position of being able to apply strength to work.”

Lee, a student at Branksome Hall Asia International School in Jeju, says the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family must protect discriminated women by expanding the ministry’s duties.

Jung Se-hoon, 15, disagrees.

“It’s pointless to keep the powers of the Gender Ministry,” said Jung, who attends Sangsan High School.

“Now, in Korea, it’s true that women are prohibited from being enrolled in workplaces due to the stereotypical viewpoint of females lacking physical strength. However, it’s undeniable that men and women do have physical differences. Thus, it’s inevitable that there are more male police officers being employed.”

In Korean society, there has been a longtime heated debate on whether or not the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is a necessity or not, along with the problem of transitioning the presidential office from the traditional Blue House to Yongsan District, central Seoul.

The two controversies originated from President Yoon Suk-yeol’s election campaign.

Many females have argued that the equal opportunities that the Gender Ministry provides protect their rights from discrimination. All five females who were interviewed for this article said they agree on the idea of keeping the ministry.

Activists urge the new administration not to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during a press conference in Jongno District, central Seoul, in April. [YONHAP]

On the contrary, the majority of males who were interviewed voiced their concerns over “reverse discrimination” that prohibits males from receiving job opportunities and have been questioning whether what the ministry has brought to our society has any actual benefits, arguing that it is unnecessary.

All six male interviewees advocated for the ministry’s abolishment.

While running for president, Yoon in his campaign promised to get rid of the Gender Ministry due to his viewpoint that “the ministry is done with its historical duties” and “the meaningless allocation of governmental job posts does not contribute to the integration of the people, and rather, the best from each field should be appointed as government officials.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [YONHAP]

the Blue House after Yoon opened its compounds for public tours. [NEWS1]

However, Yoon has yet to abolish the ministry.

Analysts say that Yoon’s transition team was conscious of the backlash by women in the community when he came into office, shortly before the local elections were scheduled for June 1.

In March, 643 organizations including the Korea Women’s Association and the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center issued a joint statement demanding Yoon with draw his plan to abolish the ministry. Labor circles, including the National Federation of Democratic Trade Unions and the Korea Federation of

Trade Unions dealing with female labor issues, have also voiced their opposition to the plan.

Nevertheless, male teenagers in particular seem to want a reformation on the ministry.

“The ministry came up with policies that didn’t bring much of an impact on our society regarding females’ rights” said Danny Han, 16, who attends Korea International School Jeju Campus.

“I believe that the ministry should either be abolished for its financial inefficiency, or expand its duties to not only women’s rights but also males’ too,” Han continued.

“For the gender discrimination prevalent within our society such as the glass ceiling, as it’s done unconsciously in most cases, originating from the society’s viewpoints on women, it’s impossible for the Gender Ministry to control what people think anyway. To address those problems, what should be abolished is the female-segregatory viewpoints of the public, not the sustaining of the ministry,” Jung from Sangsan High School pointed out.

As for the issue of transferring the

presidential office location, experts have often raised the problem of communication inside the Blue House, where former presidents used to work.

The enormous, unnecessary gap between each building hinders ready communication between the president and general staff.

Considering the many problems that the Blue House has brought, President Yoon decided to move out of the Blue House and into the Ministry of National Defense’s building in Yongsan District.

As Yoon was inaugurated on May 10, he opened the Blue House compounds for public tours.

But the decision to move out of the Blue House triggered mixed reactions among the public.

“The relocation of president Yoon administration’s office to Yongsan seems to be an ineffective policy in both effectiveness and economically, said Oh Jeong-woo, 17, who attends Korea International School Jeju Campus.

Because President Yoon commutes from his home in Seocho District, southern Seoul, serious traffic jams are caused on the Olympic Highway when he goes to and from work, due to security, Oh pointed out.

“The Blue House was a representative building of the country containing traditional culture such as roof tiles, so it had positive effects such as promoting the culture of the country, but the fact that the Yongsan office is a flat concrete building is also a negative factor,” Oh stressed.

On the other hand, some teenagers commented that the intention of President Yoon’s move was good.

“It’s a pretty good plan, as many presidents have promised [to do so] before, and it’s been implemented,” said Han.

BY KIM JUN-SEO, SONG YEONG-HUN [prekic@hanmail.net, songyeonghun2006@gmail.com]