During a press meeting held on June 11 at the Government Seoul Building, Minister Won stated, "Gender equality is explicitly mentioned as a national strategy in the government's 123 national tasks," emphasizing that gender equality should not be fragmented across individual ministries but should be a fundamental strategy for national governance.
She highlighted achievements over the past year, including amendments to laws protecting victims of the Japanese military's sexual slavery, the launch of a unified support system for victims of digital sexual crimes in May, the introduction of a pre-payment system for child support, an increase in personnel dedicated to at-risk youth, and the expansion of childcare services.
For the second year of the people's sovereignty government, she prioritized strengthening gender equality governance. This includes enhancing the role of the Gender Equality Committee as a control tower and expanding dedicated gender equality departments across all ministries. Plans are also in place to address structural discrimination against women and the burdens of gender roles on men through the 'Youth Coexistence and Empathy Committee.'
The government is also moving forward with the introduction of public menstrual products, termed 'Everyone's Menstrual Products,' aimed at alleviating the financial burden of menstrual product costs while improving public health rights.
To ensure citizens can enjoy stable daily lives, the government will enhance responses to gender violence. This includes expediting the enactment of laws addressing dating violence and distributing 'Red Flag' guidance documents that outline high-risk signs of stalking and dating violence. This initiative aims to help victims recognize danger signals early and receive timely protection and support.
Minister Won noted the necessity for femicide statistics, stating, "There have been many suggestions regarding the need for gender violence and femicide statistics, and since there are related guidelines from the United Nations, we will consult with the National Data Agency and coordinate with relevant ministries."
The system for responding to digital sexual crimes will also be advanced. Plans include enhancing an AI-based system to preemptively block online sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, as well as strengthening penalties for sites that fail to remove illegal content or repeatedly post such material. Efforts to close and block illegal harmful websites will also continue.
In the family and caregiving sectors, the focus will be on expanding the supply of childcare personnel and improving their working conditions. The government plans to secure caregiving personnel through increased childcare allowances and support the implementation of the newly established childcare worker qualification system and private registration system.
Support for single-parent families will also be expanded. Under the revised Child Support Enforcement Act, which will take effect in October, income criteria for pre-payment of child support will be eliminated, and a system will be established to ensure the government recovers all child support payments made.
In the area of children and adolescents, an AI-based crisis youth detection system will be established within the year, and a phased integration counseling system linking youth counseling services, police, and emergency rooms will be developed. Additionally, the Ministry of Gender Equality aims to implement an employment equality disclosure system by 2027 to address gender wage gaps by publicly reporting companies' gender wage statistics.
Regarding the delayed submission of recommendations on the criteria for juvenile delinquents, Minister Won explained, "The National Assembly has many agenda items, and the recommendations have been delayed due to being overshadowed by other pressing issues. I feel that our society has only been skimming the surface of such an important issue during the public discussion process, but it is significant that we have taken the first steps in this discussion."
On June 5, in response to a court ruling stating that same-sex couples should be recognized as legal partners, she remarked, "We are currently monitoring this closely. I believe we need to consider the judiciary's perspective carefully as we develop policies in the future."
Addressing the gap in gender discrimination perceptions among young men and women, she noted, "During the five talk concerts held last year, women discussed structural discrimination such as gender violence and wage gaps, while men expressed concerns about military service burdens and expectations of gender roles."
Minister Won concluded, "Gender conflict is a complex and structural phenomenon reflecting the anxieties of a competitive society, and it will be challenging to resolve in the short term. We plan to conduct public discussions through the Youth Coexistence and Empathy Committee about three more times in the second half of the year."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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