The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF; ), formerly the Ministry of Gender Equality (), is a cabinet-level division of the

government of South Korea The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

. It was created on February 28, 1998, as the Presidential Commission on Women's Affairs. The current ministry was formed on March 19, 2010. The head of this ministry is vacant; currently there is an acting minister while the position is vacant.

History

Origins

Since the establishment of the South Korean government in August 1948, the Ministry of Social Issues () handled

discrimination against women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

until the department's merger in 1955. During this time, the Ministry of Social Issues merged with the Ministry of Health () to become the Ministry of Social Issues and Health (). In 1994, the Ministry of Social Issues and Health became the Ministry of Health and Welfare (); subsequently, the organization began to take action of sexism. However, the ministries were criticized for

social position Social position is the position of an individual in a given society and culture. A given position (for example, the occupation of ''priest'') may belong to many individuals. Definition Stanley Wasserman and Katherine Faust Stanley cautioned ...

s belonging to women and the organization's unreliable enforcement of its

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

. Specific policies addressing sexism began to be addressed with the establishment of the Department Heading State Affairs () on February 25, 1998, after the inauguration of President

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

. On February 28, 1998, the Presidential Commission on Women's Affairs () was formed. On July 23, 1999, the law forbidding and regulating sexual discrimination () was created. However, the criticism concerning the lack of advancements for women in societies continued, and the Ministry of Gender Equality () was formed as a response on January 29, 2001. The organization was established with these responsibilities: protecting the victims of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

and

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

, prevention of

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and overseeing women's

occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment * Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, t ...

from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Developments

On June 12, 2004, the ministry received the responsibility of supervising the field of

child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. It is—particularly from birth to five years— a foundation ...

. On June 23, 2005, the ministry reorganized to become the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family () for rebranding purposes. On February 29, 2008, the ministry was renamed back to the Ministry of Gender Equality while transferring the responsibilities of overseeing

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

and

child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, later changed to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. On March 19, 2010, the Ministry was rearranged to become the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, still keeping the responsibilities of overseeing

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

and families.

Organization

Objectives

According to th
Official Ministry of Gender Equality and Family English website
the objectives are to plan and coordinate women's policy, and improve women's status through the enhancement of women's rights, establish, conciliate, and support for the family policy and multicultural family policy, foster welfare and protect youth, and prevent violence against women, children, and youth as well as victims.

Functions

According to th
Official Ministry of Gender Equality and Family English website
the functions of the ministry are to plan and coordinate gender-related policies, have gender impact analysis of policies, develop and utilize women resources, expand women's participation in society, prevent sex trade and protect its victims, prevent domestic and sexual violence and protect its victims, and forge partnerships with women civil groups and international organizations.

Controversies

There has been a criticism of the involvement of the word Women () in the name of MOGEF, bringing charges of taking a side in the issue of

gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...

and

reverse discrimination Reverse discrimination is a term used to describe discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group, in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group. Reverse discrimination based on race or ethnicity is also c ...

.In Korean, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is translated as 여성가족부 or 여성부, and the controversy here is that the word '여성,' which means "women", is included In 2013, there was a calling for its abolishment. In 2006, the MOGEF established a policy to pay men not to hire prostitutes on men's

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

parties. Men were told to sign up on the website with their

national identification number A national identification number or national identity number is used by the governments of many countries as a means of uniquely identifying their citizens or residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, bank ...

, and the total budget was 3,600,000 Won (3,175 US Dollars). Crowds formed a petition to bring down MOGEF. In November 2011, the ministry enforced a system of forced shutdown of teenage video gaming (). The law has been criticized as being ineffective, encouraging teenagers to commit the crime of using their parents'

resident registration number In South Korea, a resident registration number (RRN) () is a 13-digit number issued to all residents of South Korea regardless of nationality. Similar to national identification numbers in other countries, it is used to identify people in various ...

, and restricting the production of domestic games. The law was abolished in August 2021.

References

Notes

External links

Official website (in Korean)

Official website (in English)
*http://www.mogef.go.kr/eng/pc/eng_pc_f001.do {{authority control Gender Equality and Family Gender Equality and Family Gender equality ministries Children, young people and families ministries Gender Equality and Family Women in South Korea * Ministry of Gender Equality and Family