Exclusive: Yong Hye-in's Stance 8 Years Ago Contrasted with Recent Claims on Sexism Controversy

[Anchor]

During a press conference today, ministerial nominee Yong Hye-in admitted that she had participated in a past clandestine faction known as an "underground organization" where a sexist culture existed, while emphasizing that she had criticized such a culture. However, what we found was different.

Exclusive report by Jo Yoon-ha.

[Reporter]

Nominee Yong Hye-in participated in a closed political faction called an underground organization from 2013 to 2017. She stated that she was also hurt by the sexist culture within it and sympathized with her colleagues' raising of the issue.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: Regarding the problematic sexist writings, when I first encountered them, I too criticized them, asking how anyone could still talk in such outdated and wrong ways.]

This issue dates back to February 2018.

It began when Lee Gahyun, former head of the Youth Union, exposed that education on premarital chastity and abortion bans had taken place within the underground organization.

As the fallout grew, the Labor Party held a national committee meeting to discuss whether to issue a public apology.

Looking at the video from the meeting at the time, nominee Yong took the floor not to support, but to oppose the release of the apology.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (March 2018): We are in a situation where not only the facts of the victimhood and the wrongdoing, but even the basic facts cannot be conclusively determined.]

Instead of "victim," she used the expression "person appealing of damage."

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (March 2018): If we believe that the process of empathizing with those genuinely appealing of damage and resolving the issue must go hand in hand with the healing of those appealing of damage...]

Nominee Yong's logic was that even if the sexist education was true, the underground organization should apologize to the Labor Party, and it was not something for the Labor Party to apologize for to the public.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (March 2018): Even if everyone agrees (on issuing the apology), I think releasing an apology in such a unilateral manner is also irresponsible. I ask the national committee members to vote down both the original and revised drafts of the apology.]

Some party members protested that the issue of sexism should be handled from the victim's perspective,

[Has the Labor Party abandoned the principle of victim-centeredness?]

The motion to issue an apology was ultimately voted down.

Three months later, the education on premarital chastity and abortion bans was confirmed to be true.

Lee Gahyun, the initial whistleblower and former union head, even requested an investigation into nominee Yong, stating that she had driven party members who exposed sexism to look like liars.

It appears difficult for the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family to avoid criticism that she prioritized protecting the organization she belonged to over embodying gender equality values.

(Photo: Lim Woo-sik, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Kim Jong-mi)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.