This article is by Rhee Esther and read by an artificial voice.



The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will relaunch under a new name on Wednesday, removing the word "women" from its Korean title for the first time since the ministry's inception in 2001, the government announced Tuesday.

The ministry's original Korean name read as "Ministry of Women and Family." The new Korean name will directly align with the current English name, which will remain unchanged.

The revised name, finalized Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting, marks the first time in 24 years that the ministry will operate without explicitly referencing women in its title. The change is part of a broader reorganization aimed at strengthening the ministry's role as the government's command center for gender equality policies.

Under the rebranding, Minister Won Min-kyong will serve as the inaugural head of the newly expanded ministry.

The restructured ministry will include one additional office, one bureau and three new divisions, reinforcing its capacity to lead core policy areas.

A new Gender Equality Policy Office will be established, overseeing the Gender Equality Policy Bureau - formerly the Women's Policy Bureau. A new Equal Employment Policy Bureau will also be created, along with the Safety and Human Rights Policy Bureau - formerly the Women's and Youth Rights Promotion Bureau.

Under the Gender Equality Policy Bureau, two new divisions - the Gender Equity Planning Division and the Gender Equality and Cultural Cooperation Division - will be launched. The existing Women's Policy Division will be renamed the Gender Equality Policy Division.



The Gender Equity Planning Division was created in response to concerns raised by President Lee Jae Myung about perceived reverse discrimination against young men, particularly those in their 20s - often referred to as idaenam.

During a Cabinet meeting on June 10, Lee told then-Vice Minister Shin Young-sook that "There are areas where men feel discriminated against, yet no official discussion is taking place."

Lee added that the expanded ministry should "continue focusing on women's policy, but also study and address areas where men may face discrimination."

A new Equal Employment Policy Bureau will also be established, consisting of one office and three divisions. The bureau will oversee policies aimed at closing the gender pay gap, encouraging women's economic participation and preventing career interruptions.

The bureau will also include a new Equal Employment Coordination Division. The current Women's Resources Development Division will be renamed the Economic Activity Promotion Division, and the Career-Interrupted Women's Economic Promotion Division will become the Career Development Support Division.



In addition, key responsibilities previously held by the Ministry of Employment and Labor - such as affirmative action measures, gender-based labor disclosure policies and group counseling programs at women's employment centers - will be transferred to the Gender Equality and Family Ministry.

The Women's and Youth Rights Promotion Bureau will be restructured into the Safety and Human Rights Policy Bureau and incorporated into the new Gender Equality Policy Office. It will focus on strengthening interagency cooperation to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, including sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

The Domestic Violence and Stalking Prevention Division will be renamed Domestic Violence, Stalking and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Division and will be tasked with implementing a key national policy under the Lee administration: the eradication of intimate partner violence.

A ceremony marking the official launch of the newly named and restructured ministry will be held on Wednesday at the government complex in central Seoul.

"Our society has made progress on gender equality, but challenges such as the gender pay gap, safety disparities from gender-based violence and generational divides in p...