A coalition of women's rights groups holds a press conference near the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday, demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol appoint a new minister of gender equality and family and retract his decision to abolish the ministry. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jin

The abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is once again emerging as an election issue, with politicians looking to exploit the deepening gender divide among young Koreans as the April 10 general elections approach.

President Yoon Suk Yeol's commitment to scrapping the gender equality ministry, a controversial pledge that significantly helped him gain votes from young men in the 2022 presidential election, is being thrust into the spotlight again as the ruling People Power Party (PPP) looks to uphold that promise.

On the other hand, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized the Yoon administration and the governing party for bringing up the divisive issue ahead of the elections.

A coalition of women's groups, including Korea Women's Hotline and Women Link, held a press conference, Friday, denouncing Yoon's decision not to appoint a successor to former Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook, who left office, Wednesday.

"We demand an immediate halt to repeated attempts to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and urge (the president) to appoint a competent minister to implement proper gender equality policies and normalize the organization," the activists said during the event held near the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul.

They also criticized PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon's promise to establish a so-called population ministry that would assume the role of the gender ministry once it is abolished.

"The idea of replacing the ministry with the population ministry means that women will be treated as birth-giving machines, not individuals with voluntary will and dignity," said Bae Jin-kyung, head of the Korean Women Workers' Association.

The sign of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is displayed at the Government Complex in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

The president's decision to leave the ministerial position vacant is seen as a move to dissolve the ministry after the new National Assembly is formed following the parliamentary elections. Currently, two proposed amendments to the Government Organization Act – both submitted by PPP lawmakers – aimed at abolishing the ministry are stalled at the Assembly, facing opposition from other parties.

Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the PPP, who led the proposal of the bills, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that he will "submit the same bill again" in the new Assembly.

The DPK reiterated its opposition to scrapping the ministry. The opposition lawmakers also speculated that the timing of Yoon's approval of Kim's resignation earlier this week, made six months after she expressed her willingness to resign, suggests a calculated maneuver by the government to leverage the controversial issue to bolster support ahead of the elections.

"It is deeply regrettable that the government has raised this issue again, which has never found agreement with the public or the Assembly, with just 50 days remaining before the elections," said Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the DPK during a press conference, Friday.

Then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol's short message on his Facebook uploaded in January 2022, announcing his pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family / Korea Times file

The revived controversy over the dissolution of the gender equality ministry suggests that gender-related policies may once again become hot-button election issues used to divide young voters, as observed in the 2022 presidential election.

During the election campaign, then-PPP candidate Yoon had promised to dismantle the gender equality ministry, questioning its necessity in Korea's society where, in his words, "structural discrimination against women no longer exists."

This stance helped Yoon gain support from men in their 20s and 30s, who were once solid supporters of liberal blocs, as they had been unhappy with the previous Moon Jae-in government's pro-women policies.

However, Yoon's anti-feminist pledges were a decisive factor that made young women turn their backs on the conservative candidate and choose then-DPK candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung instead.