Launch of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs

- The revised Government Organization Act was approved at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 30, and will be promulgated and enforced on Wednesday, October 1.

- Strengthening its function as a control tower for gender equality policy, theministry aims to realize a gender-equal society that enhances the lives of all citizens.

With the implementation of the revised “Government Organization Act,” the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (Minister: Won Min-kyong) will be relaunched as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs.

- The ministry is being reorganized and expanded into “the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs” to strengthen its control tower function for gender equality policy and to support equal rights and opportunities free from gender-based discrimination or bias.

- Accordingly, Minister Won Min-kyong will serve as the first Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs.

Key elements of the ministry’s reorganization are as follows:

① A Gender Equality Policy Office will be newly established, placing the Gender Equality Policy Bureau (formerly the Women’s Policy Bureau), the Employment Equality Policy Bureau(new), and the Safety and Human Rights Policy Bureau (formerly the Women’s and Youth Rights Promotion Bureau) under its jurisdiction to comprehensively promote gender equality policies.

② The former Women’s Policy Bureau will be reorganized into the Gender Equality Policy Bureau (1 bureau, 4 divisions*) to strengthen its functions in overall coordination of gender equality policy, promotion of gender equality culture, and improvement of gender imbalance and discriminatory systems. A new Employment Equality Policy Bureau will also be established (1 bureau, 3 divisions**), responsible for affirmative employment improvement measures, reducing the gender wage gap, promoting women’s economic participation, and preventing career interruptions.

* (New) Gender Equality Culture and Cooperation Division, Gender Equality Innovation Division, (Renamed) Gender Equality Policy Division (formerly Women’s Policy Division)

** (New) Employment Equality Coordination Division, (Renamed) Economic Activity Promotion Division (formerly Women’s Resources Development Division), Career Continuity Support Division (formerly Career-Interrupted Women’s Economic Promotion Division)

※ Transfer of responsibilities from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (affirmative employment improvement measures, gender-based employment disclosure, group counseling at Saeil Centers)

③ The Women’s and Youth Rights Promotion Bureau will be reorganized into the Safety and Human Rights Policy Bureau and placed under the Gender Equality Policy Office to strengthen interagency cooperation systems for violence prevention and victim support.

※ The Domestic Violence and Stalking Prevention Division will be renamed the Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Division.

【Main Organizations and Functions of the Gender Equality Policy Office】

To mark the official launch of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs, a plaque unveiling ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, at the Government Complex Seoul, attended by Minister Won Min-kyong, the Vice Minister, and ministry staff.

Minister Won Min-kyong stated, “While our society has made progress in gender equality, significant gaps remain—such as the gender wage gap, disparities in safety from genderbased violence, and generational differences in perceptions of gender equality.”

- She added, “The newly launched Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs will actively work to address and close these gaps, expand the values of gender equality, and help realize meaningful gender equality that benefits all citizens.”