"Pre-marital Chastity and Anti-Abortion Ideology Education? Yong Hye-in Must Answer Directly"

[Anchor]

Allegations have surfaced that a severe culture of gender discrimination existed within a clandestine faction, a so-called underground organization, of the Labor Party, to which nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family Yong Hye-in formerly belonged. Some activists who worked alongside nominee Yong pointed out that she and her spouse were central figures in this underground group at the time, urging them to address the issue.

Reporter Kim Bo-mi has the details.

[Reporter]

Back in 2018, the issue of a so-called underground organization erupted within the Labor Party, an out-of-parliament progressive party.

Through an internal fact-finding investigation at the time, the Labor Party revealed that an undisclosed underground organization within the party, centered around figures from student activist backgrounds, exerted influence not only over the Labor Party but also over groups such as the Youth Union and the Youth Left. In particular, the party stated that anti-women ideological education, such as advocating against abortion and promoting pre-marital chastity, was conducted targeting female activists.

Yong Hye-in, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, served as the representative of the Youth Left in 2018 when the controversy escalated, and her spouse served as a former representative.

Nominee Yong also served as the leader of the Labor Party in 2019.

The Underground Organization Culture Interview Collection, which compiles testimonies from victims at the time, includes accounts that a culture of gender discrimination was rampant. According to the publication, leaders told female activists not to get married while advising men that they needed women to manage their daily lives, and referred to married women supporting male activists as a "defense struggle."

[Woo Sae-ha / Former Ulsan Chapter Head, Youth Union (Underground Organization Member): Someone would say, "Your legs are so pretty," or "Don't come wearing a skirt." And the chief director, Person A, would say, "I'm going to sleep together in a certain female member's room." It was deeply unpleasant, to say the least.]

Some activists who previously worked with nominee Yong criticized that both she and her spouse were core figures of the underground organization at the time, and despite holding a voice and influence, they stood by or condoned such gender discrimination issues.

[Kim Yun-young / Former Women's Committee Chairperson, Labor Party: Feeling a tremendous sense of frustration that someone who condoned this is becoming a nominee for the Minister of Gender Equality...]

[Woo Sae-ha / Former Ulsan Chapter Head, Youth Union (Underground Organization Member): Given that nearly half or more of the figures surrounding the Basic Income Party were members of that underground organization back then...]

In particular, they argued that as a candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family—who intends to change the nation's gender discrimination culture—she must provide an explanation regarding this issue. Nominee Yong's side stated, "We will respond during the confirmation hearing."

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: (Do you have no plans to explain before the hearing?) ......]

(Camera Reporter: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Oh Young-taek | Design: Park Taeyoung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.