Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, has been confirmed to be reviewing the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
The plan is to replace this function with a newly established "Ministry of Future Youth and Family" or "Ministry of Population Youth and Family" to address it from a more macroscopic perspective.
Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate, is also presenting the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as the top pledge, so the controversy over the abolition of this department is expected to resurface in the June 3 presidential election.
According to comprehensive coverage by ChosunBiz on the 14th, the People Power Party's Policy Coordination Office is reviewing a pledge with this content. Originally, this government reorganization plan was to be included in the 10 major pledges submitted by Candidate Kim to the National Election Commission, but it has ultimately been omitted.
A People Power Party official said, "It's not that we intend to remove functions related to women, but the idea is to approach it from a more macroscopic perspective by establishing a Youth Family Ministry," adding, "We are reviewing whether to include 'future' or 'population' before Youth Family Ministry."
Candidate Kim's intention is interpreted to be included in the third of the 10 major pledges, "A country where youth grow, a Korea where the future opens up," and the sixth, "A country where it is good to give birth and raise children, with a reliable lifelong welfare system."
This is calculated to show the government's willingness to comprehensively take responsibility for and solve issues such as youth housing difficulties and the avoidance of marriage and parenting through the newly established ministry.
On that day, Candidate Kim met with reporters and stated, "It's not about 'abolishing' or 'expanding' the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but I believe we need a government that sensitively expands and takes responsibility for our role regarding home and family, which is somewhat different from the Ministry of Health and Welfare."
The Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is currently leading the presidential race, has not yet presented any concrete plans regarding the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
On that day, Jo Seung-rae, the Democratic Party of Korea's senior campaign spokesperson, remarked regarding reports that Lee's camp is reviewing the renaming and function expansion of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, that "there has been no official decision yet."