South Korean nominee Yong Hye-in stepped down Sunday as the country’s minister of gender equality and family, ending a two-week controversy over whether she could keep her parliamentary seat while serving in the Cabinet.
Yong announced her decision at a news conference at the National Assembly, saying she was giving up the nomination in pursuit of “a gender-equal society for everyone.” President Lee Jae-myung nominated her on Aug. 30, and her resignation came 14 days later.
She had drawn criticism from conservative opposition figures after saying she would keep her proportional representation lawmaker seat if appointed minister. Opponents called her a symbol of greed, and questions also grew after reports that her spouse had held a senior role in the Basic Income Party since its early days.
The backlash spread beyond the conservative opposition, with some voices in Lee’s Democratic Party also calling for her to step aside. The case has highlighted a broader debate in South Korea over dual office-holding and political norms, a subject closely watched by Korean-American communities following national politics from Los Angeles and beyond.
