Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Yong Hye-in resigned voluntarily two weeks after being nominated, drawing assessments that the so-called "nomination failure saga" has repeated.
According to the political sphere on the 13th, three people in the past three years have been nominated and then failed to take office as nominees for Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and its predecessor, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family: Kim Haeng, Kang Sun-woo, and Yong Hye-in.
Yong held a press conference at the National Assembly that day and said she would "step down from the Minister nominee position as of today," announcing her intent to resign. Yong said, "I was told by the Democratic Party of Korea to make a decision in light of the lack of broad public consensus on holding both a proportional-representation lawmaker seat and the Minister post," adding, "With even the ruling party expressing concerns, I judged it would be realistically difficult to serve as a Cabinet member."
President Lee Jae-myung nominated Yong as Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee on the 30th of last month. But Yong drew criticism after saying, contrary to custom, that Yong would concurrently hold a proportional-representation lawmaker seat and the Minister post.
Afterward, the so-called "Family Income Party controversy" and allegations of under-organization activities surfaced in succession. As recently as on the 10th, Yong held a press conference refuting various allegations and urging the holding of a confirmation hearing, but stepped down as a nominee as calls for a decision grew even within the ruling party.
Since Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook expressed intent to resign in 2023 over the disruption of the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, the nomination failure saga has repeated. Former President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated former People Power Party emergency committee member Kim Haeng as Kim's successor, but Kim resigned voluntarily during the confirmation process amid the so-called "stock parking" allegations. At the time, the person who led the vetting of Kim was Yong.
With Kim stepping down, Minister Kim Hyun-sook, who had already expressed intent to resign, had to continue carrying out duties. After Kim's resignation was accepted in Feb. 2024, Vice Minister Shin Young-sook served as acting chief.
In June last year, when the Lee Jae-myung administration launched, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kang Sun-woo was nominated as Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. A confirmation hearing was even held, but as the "aide power abuse controversy" did not subside, Kang stepped down from the nominee post. Since the introduction of the confirmation hearing system for minister nominees in 2005, it was the first case of a sitting lawmaker failing to take office.
The Lee Jae-myung administration then nominated Won Min-kyong, a nonstanding member of the National Human Rights Commission at the time, as the new nominee, and Won took office as Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in Sept. last year. It was about one year and seven months after the leadership vacancy began.
Minister Won has served as the inaugural Minister of Gender Equality and Family since the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was reorganized into the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in Oct. last year. With nominee Yong, who had been designated as Won's successor, failing to take office, Won is expected to continue leading the ministry until a new nominee is found.
Kang Yu-jung, the Blue House chief spokesperson, said after Yong's resignation press conference that day, "We see that the nominee made the decision independently to reduce the burden on state affairs and people's livelihoods," adding, "The necessary follow-up procedures will proceed according to the established rules."