According to a senior economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-main yeol's election goal of eliminating the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is "premature" and would send the "totally incorrect policy signal" if implemented.

Willem Adema, the senior economist in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's social policy division, stated in an email response to The Korea Herald's inquiries about the main conservative People Power Party president-gender elect's policy promises that "in terms of gender equality, there is still a long way to go in Korea."

However, he said, "While not all OECD nations have a Ministry for Gender Equality, there are always governmental entities that work to promote gender equality in public life — whether they are part of another ministry or in the Prime Minister's or Cabinet Office."

In contrast to Korea, gender disparities in other OECD nations are frequently not as severe as they are in Korea. So the defunding of the Ministry for Gender Equality appears to be premature and sends out entirely the incorrect policy message."

The conclusion of the OECD senior economist stands in sharp contrast to Yoon's assertion that the Ministry of Gender Equality is no longer necessary. Even as late as Sunday, the president-elect reaffirmed that the ministry "had completed its historical mission."

The prevalence of institutional gender discrimination in Korea has also been called into doubt by Yoon, who claims that "women being discriminated against while males are given superior treatment has become a thing of the past."

According to Adema, this isn't entirely correct.

"Korea, for example, has the greatest gender pay difference among OECD nations, as well as a significant gender employment gap of about 20 percentage points and the lowest proportion of women on the boards of publicly traded corporations." According to him, "women are also underrepresented in leadership roles in public life, and they spend far more time at home performing unpaid domestic duties than males."

Despite broad economic progress, gender equality in Korea is "still a long way off," according to the minister of foreign affairs.

"While young Korean women may have an advantage in educational achievement, this advantage has not yet been completely translated into labor market equality or leadership in society as a whole," he explained.

According to him, transformation in labor market institutions, in particular, has been sluggish to come about. According to him, "Men are far more likely than women to effectively seek career prospects in regular work," but "women frequently end up in non-regular employment or withdraw from the labor field."

Korea has been placed lowest among industrialized countries in The Economist's "glass-ceiling index," which analyzes the role and influence of women in the workplace, for several years in a row.

Yoon's pledge to abolish the Gender Equality Ministry as part of a series of steps to establish what he calls a "merit-based" system has been received with criticism and resistance at home, even from some members of his own party, according to reports.

Women's organizations have asked for the withdrawal of the policy vow, which they describe as "a step backward," and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has condemned it for aggravating gender inequality a number of times, including last month.

Cho Eun-hee, the mayor of Seoul's historically conservative Seocho district and a member of the People Power Party, urged for the ministry's retention on March 10; however, the party's head Lee Jun-Seok promptly dismissed the idea as unconstitutional.

In a radio interview, he stated that he would "definitely" follow through on his campaign pledge. The ministry "has reached the end of its usefulness, and its mission and function are unclear, which is why there are discussions for its abolition." After Cho made his statements, he advised members of his own party to "be cautious in criticizing campaign pledges."

It is widely believed that Lee, who has long advocated for the abolition of the Gender Equality Ministry, was the mastermind behind Yoon's controversial campaign promise, which was intended to appeal to young men dissatisfied with the incumbent administration's efforts to increase women's participation in the workforce and in public office. Yoon's campaign promise was met with widespread skepticism.

In the aftermath of an internal power struggle, Yoon made a policy commitment to abolish the ministry as soon as he reconciled with the party's leader, which he announced in January. Yoon received the backing of a loud anti-feminist organization as a result of this decision.

Yoon was elected president by a razor-thin margin of 0.73 percent over his Democratic Party opponent Lee Jae-Myung last week, bringing an end to a bitter campaign. The gender split was particularly pronounced among voters in their twenties. Yoon received 58 percent of the vote from young males in their twenties, while Lee received only 36 percent. Women in the same age group, on the other hand, voted for Yoon 33% of the time and Lee 58 percent of the time, according to the results.

The likelihood of the ministry being really dismissed, on the other hand, remains uncertain, given that the Democratic Party now holds a majority of the seats in the parliament. It is necessary to alter the laws on government organizations in order to establish and demolish Cabinet offices, and this revision must be approved by the National Assembly in order to take effect. The next general election will not be held until well into Yoon's second term as president, in 2024, at the earliest.