Sunset for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

(Photo of Gwanganli Bridge, Busan, by CatBrook)

As expected, today Lee Myung-bak announced that after only two and half years, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) will be merged into the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As both the Korea Times and Hankyoreh report, the “prospects for parliamentary approval of Lee’s organizational reform bill are uncertain, as the 138-seat pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP), which is capable of mustering a majority of 150 seats in the National Assembly in conjunction with minor liberal parties, opposes the closure of the Unification Ministry,” but this is the only reason for it’s opposition, and from what I’ve read as I’ve covered the issue over the last week, few save politically marginal womens’ groups will mourn MOGEF’s passing.

Regardless of what readers think of his plans to downsize government into the “smallest since 1960,” but at the same time re-orientate it back along the lines of its 1970s developmental statism (an interesting contradiction that I’ll be covering on the blog soon), it is certainly ominous that the scrapping of MOGEF is occurring despite his pre-election pledge to strengthen it. At the moment I only have that one source on that and so I will try to find others to confirm it, but in the meantime it would certainly sour my image of him if true, and only 4 weeks since he was elected no less. Sure, I already don’t think too highly of his devoting Seoul to God as mayor, or of his persistence in wanting to build a cross-country canal either, but at least in the latter case he is fulfilling his pre-election promises.

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