YONHAP NEWS

Ministry of Gender Equality set for expansion

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- The government and the ruling party agreed Sunday to push for the expansion of the Ministry of Gender Equality's (MOGE) jurisdiction to emphasize the importance of women and childcare-oriented policies.

   Following a policy consultation meeting with the government, a ranking lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) said that the MOGE will take over jurisdiction of government policies on family, youth, childcare and multicultural family affairs from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, starting next year.

   The MOGE is currently in charge of formulating and implementing gender-related policies and enhancing women's status and rights in society.

   With the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak government in early 2008, the MOGE lost its family and youth affair jurisdiction to the health ministry. But the upcoming reorganization agreed upon at the government-GNP policy meeting is expected to heighten the status of the MOGE, officials said.

   "The reorganization of the MOGE is inevitable as the ministry's affairs are closely related to general family affairs, including youth fostering and childcare," said a GNP lawmaker.

   "In the long run, the MOGE will also be responsible for policies to increase the nation's declining birthrate," he said.

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