Too feminist, or not feminist enough? Gender equality minister nominee polarizes all sides

How feminist do you have to be to lead Korea's Gender Ministry? 

Yong Hye-in, the president's new pick to head the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, is finding out the answer to that question the hard way. Since her nomination on Sunday, the twice-elected, 36-year-old lawmaker leading the minor progressive Basic Income Party has been the talk of the town, with critics across party lines and ideologies questioning whether she truly deserves the post.

The most debated backlash stems from her refusal to give up her parliamentary seat if she is confirmed for the Cabinet position. Though not illegal, it is a break from precedent, and she is accused of trying to have it both ways. But a less procedural and more combustible fight is about Yong's feminist agenda. 

Conservatives flag her as a divisive character who leans too far left, citing her legislative history of sponsoring pro-abortion, marriage-adjacent legal protections for same-sex couples and antidiscrimination bills that would protect the LGBT community.

"Yong has fueled conflict between young men and women in their 20s and 30s with all kinds of language and she will be a sexist minister who churns out divisive regulations and wastes taxpayer money," wrote conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo on Facebook on Simday. 

Some women's groups, on the other hand, question if Yong is committed enough to their cause. 

The dispute says less about Yong than about a country still arguing over what its gender ministry and the word "feminism" should even mean. 

'Too feminist'

To her critics on the right, Yong is too closely tied to feminist activism to lead a ministry meant to represent everyone. 

Her detractors draw on Yong's record of advocacy. She welcomed the 2021 lapse of Korea's criminal abortion ban and called for fully repealing it from Korea's criminal code. In 2023, she proposed the Life Partnership Act, which is still pending, intended to extend legal protections to cohabiting or caregiving relationships outside marriage or blood ties. She has also pushed to redefine rape law around consent rather than force — a globally mainstream criminal law reform but a divisive issue in Korea.

They also branded her a "man hater" over her opposition to military-service compensation measures. In April 2021, when a bill was proposed to honor military veterans with hiring, promotion and housing application bonus points, Yong opposed it, arguing it would revive a system already ruled unconstitutional in 1999 for discriminating against women and people with disabilities. 

"We already cleared kkolpemi [a derogatory term for hardline feminists] out, so why stir this up again?" said Reform Party Rep. Lee Jun-seok, adding that the president is "drinking poison" by nominating her for the ministerial post. 

'Not feminist enough'

At the same time, critics from the opposite direction argue Yong's record on gender policy is too thin, especially since feminism was never the Basic Income Party's central focus. Yong founded the Basic Income Party in 2020, a progressive minor party built around a single issue — the universal basic income. It now has roughly 3,700 registered members.

PPP Rep. Lim Jong-deuk, a member of the National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee, said on Sunday that his office found that none of the bills put forth by Yong fell under the jurisdiction of that committee or its predecessor, the Women and Family Committee. Yong has sponsored 116 bills as the lead proposer during her two terms as lawmaker, according to the office. 

Lim argues that Yong only lead-sponsored bills tied to committees such as Public Administration and Security, Legislation and Judiciary, and Strategy and Finance, and none under the Gender Equality and Family Committee's jurisdiction.

However, Yong's camp has pointed to legislative work on women's and family issues, even though it fell outside the Gender Equality and Family Committee's formal jurisdiction.

Women's groups also largely point to Yong's past comments and her lack of true commitment to gender equality legislation. The Korea Women's Political Network came out sharply against the nomination, calling Yong "unqualified" to lead the ministry and citing her past stance on abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority. She supported its complete abolition, the group said, despite tearful pleas from sexual violence victims and other legally vulnerable groups to preserve it.

"How can a person like her protect the rights of minorities?" it said in a statement.

The dispute centers on a Criminal Procedure Act amendment that strips prosecutors of their power to order additional investigation on police-led cases — part of the Democratic Party's (DP) broader push to separate investigative and indictment powers. Yong voted for the bill, though victims' advocates were against it, warning it removes a key check that lets prosecutors step in when police investigations of sexual violence cases fall short.

Yong acknowledged the concerns on Wednesday.

"I am well aware that many women are concerned about this. I will listen extensively to voices from the field and work closely with relevant ministries to ensure that victims’ rights and interests are not infringed upon during supplementary or renewed investigations,” she said.

'Too inexperienced,' or something else? 

The 36-year-old, if confirmed, would become the youngest Cabinet minister in Korean constitutional history. But the potential milestone is being overshadowed by concerns about her readiness for the job. 

Experts point to her lack of administrative experience and unclear policy agenda as the main sticking points heading into her confirmation hearing, where both her track record and plans will come under scrutiny. Some local media note her lack of experience outside activism before entering politics, in a role that will require her to coordinate across the justice, health, and labor ministries.

The more immediate political problem, however, is in the numbers. A late-August poll put President Lee's approval rating among men in their 20s at 25.1 percent, the lowest of any demographic.  

On male-dominated online forums like Ruliweb, reactions to the nomination have run from calling her "Yong-femi" — a mocking portmanteau of her name and "feminist" — to dismissing her as outright unqualified.

"The pick was designed to be a sacrifice, an obvious decoy to throw her out to take the hit," reads one widely upvoted quote, saying that the president picked her knowing she wouldn't get approved by the rest of the government. 

Some in President Lee's own camp worry the nomination could cost him support.

"It could send signals that this administration's direction is drifting away from the moderate-conservative expansion we wanted," said the DP-associated lawyer Sin In-gyu.

The issue is even more contentious as the ministry itself has repeatedly faced existential threats since its founding in 2001. It faced abolition at the start of President Lee Myung-bak's administration in 2008, though it ultimately survived, and again in 2022 when then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol posted "Abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family" on social media and made it a core campaign pledge in his presidential run. His team, however, dropped it from the official policy tasks. In the same year, the PPP proposed a bill to abolish the ministry, seeking to merge it with the Health and Welfare Ministry. It did not pass.

How will it unfold? 

A confirmation hearing — a formal National Assembly proceeding in which lawmakers question a president's nominee for a senior government post — is set to open for Yong sometime in September, though no formal date has been announced yet.

The DP has said it wants to wrap up confirmation proceedings for all the president's new nominees before the Chuseok holiday, which begins on Sept. 24 this year, while the PPP has signaled it plans to apply tough scrutiny, especially to Yong.

Yong told reporters Wednesday that she will lay out her position on the various controversies during the hearing itself. As a potential future gender equality and family minister, Yong said she will strive to create policies that are "inclusive and universal."

"As family structures become more diverse, I will establish a comprehensive support system so that all forms of life are respected," she said. “I will also work to achieve gender equality in the workplace and build a Korea where no one has to choose between work and life.”


BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]