Yoon Suk-yeol, Lee Jae-myung clash over gender issue

Jan 11, 2022, 09:30 am

AsiaToday reporter Kim Na-ri

The issue of gender has emerged to heat up the presidential race in South Korea after Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) called for the abolishment of the Ministry of Women and Family in an apparent attempt to woo young voters, who are considered ‘swing voters’ for the upcoming presidential election.

In order to win back the support from young male voters, especially in their 20s, Yoon vowed to abolish the country’s ministry in charge of women’s affairs and to raise the wage of enlisted soldiers to 2 million won a month. On the other hand, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) has been approaching the issue carefully since opposing Yoon’s idea could anger young male voters.

DP’s Lee garnered 40.1 percent, while his rival Yoon gained 34.1 percent, according to a survey by Realmeter conducted last week. Lee’s support decreased 0.8 percentage point from a week earlier, and Yoon’s support fell 5.1 percentage points. Yoon recently lost support particularly from men in their 30s by 12.2 percentage points. During the same period, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party gained support from men aged 18-29 and men in their 30s with 9.1 and 7.1 percentage points, respectively, absorbing Yoon’s male votes.

Yoon’s aggressive pledge is seen as a move to woo young male voters in their 20 and 30s after making a dramatic reconciliation with PPP leader Lee Jun-seok. In fact, his pledge is welcomed by young male voters.

“It is against fairness and common sense to not guarantee the minimum wage to the soldiers as it is equivalent for them to provide labor to the state at their own expense when they are young,” Yoon said after a launching ceremony of Incheon election committee. “The pledge of raising the monthly wage for soldiers to 2 million won ($1,664) is not just for men in their 20s, as parents can see their children’ future more freely and stably,” he added.

DP candidate Lee, who has the upper hand in both men and women in their 20s and 30s, has chosen to refrain from joining the gender war and embrace not only men in their 20s but also women in their 20s. Lee attended a meeting of ‘Startup Representatives for Working Women’ held in Seoul to discuss the issue of women’s career break, the income gap between men and women, and the country’s woman-centered childcare culture. He said that men’s parental leave should be expanded. He recently pledged to eradicate gender violence under the slogan of “a country where women feel secure, and a society where everyone is safe” by strengthening punishment for dating violence, eradicating sexual violence in the military, and more.

Regarding Yoon’s pledge of abolishing the women ministry, Lee said, “We need an alternative to make our society better beyond abolishing and opposing the ministry.” He also said that discriminatory factors should never be used for political purposes.

Some say that it is insufficient for Yoon to reverse his situation with his strategy of attracting male voters in their 20s and 30s. “The most important factor for the sharp fall in Yoon’s support among voters is that swing voters rather than young voters in their 20s and 30s walked away from him,” said Shin Yul, a professor at Myongji University. “Since not all the swing voters are anti-feminists, it is not sufficient for Yoon to gain support from voters in their 20s with his anti-feminism strategy.”

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