“Are there only male workers in Korea?” women’s labour groups protest abolition of gender employment policy unit, 16 October 2025

On 1 October, South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labour (MOEL) transferred part of its Women’s Employment Policy Division’s responsibilities to the newly restructured Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, now renamed the Ministry of Gender Equality and Families.

In response, women’s and labour organisations criticised the move, stating that “women have disappeared from the Ministry of Labour”, and on 16 October, they visited the MOEL’s government complex in Sejong to raise their concerns directly with Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon.

Ahead of the meeting, the Women Workers’ Solidarity Council (WWSC) — a coalition including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Korean Women Workers Association — held a press conference outside the MOEL at 3:00 p.m., demanding the reversal of the division’s abolition and expansion of women-focused labour policies. They urged the minister to “immediately meet with the WWSC and, even now, listen to the voices of women workers and prepare a plan not for abolition but for the strengthening and expansion of the Women’s Employment Policy Division.”

During the event, Jung Yeon-sil, vice president of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), posed the pointed question: “Are there only male workers in the Republic of Korea?” She continued, “Now that a ministry overseeing gender equality policy has been created, is the Ministry of Labour declaring it will abandon all labour policies for women? Then who will be responsible for addressing the discrimination, low pay, and job insecurity faced by over 10 million women in the labour market?” Jung also criticised the change as not merely an organisational reshuffle, but a policy setback. “The abolition and transfer of the Women’s Employment Policy Division is not a simple restructuring. It is deeply concerning because it risks undermining the coherence and effectiveness of gender-sensitive labour policies.”