'Equality of both genders', not gender equality? Planned ordinance change accused of discrimination

This combined photo shows the participants of the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival marching near the Jonggak Station in Seoul on June 1 (left), while anti-homosexuality protest wages on near the city hall on the same day. (Yonhap)

Seoul Metropolitan Government recently notified the legislative process for a revision an ordinance on gender equality to change the mentions of "gender equality" to "equality of both genders" touching off a dispute that the revision amounts to discrimination toward the LGBTQ+ people.

The revision of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Framework Ordinance on Gender Equality was proposed by councilwoman Hwang You-jung of the ruling People Power Party, and will replace all the mentions of the "Seong pyeong deung (gender equality) in the ordinance to "Yangseong pyeong deung (equality of both genders)."

Hwang explained that she proposed the revision to better reflect the Gender Equality Act. The law's Korean name is "Yangseong Pyeongdeung Gibon Beop," which literally translates as the basic law for equality of both genders.

"The content of the ordinance is basically about equality of both genders. ... The purpose (of the revision proposal) was to ensure that the terminology used in the base act (Gender Equality Act) is reflected (in the ordinance)," Hwang said.

But her proposal has led to criticism that it discriminated against people whose gender identity is nonbinary.

Hwang said that while she respects LGBTQ+ people, she is against the said ordinance providing legal grounds for support for what is often called the "third gender" in Korea -- which refers to individuals who do not identify themselves with either gender. The councilwoman in the past has expressed negative opinions about gender equality and LGBTQ+ issues being handled by the same organization.

In the 2023 audit of the city government audit, Hwang said it was "a very serious issue" that the city's gender equality center was dealing with LGBTQ+ affairs. In December, the city decided to close down the center and move its functions to the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family by June.

As indicated by the official translation of the Gender Equality Act, gender equality and equality of both genders are often used interchangeably in South Korea. But some of Christians and conservatives -- including the ruling party, for which protestant groups form one of its biggest supporter bases -- have said the two words should be used separately, as just saying "gender equality" may seem as condoning a 'third gender."

A similar controversy broke out when Gyeonggi Provincial Council passed a gender equality ordinance in 2019, when some 40 of the local civic groups and Christian groups held protests insisting the terminology should be equality of both genders.

Last year, the provincial council kicked off a legislative process to change mentions of gender equality to equality of both genders, for which the Gyeonggi Christian Council and other groups expressed full support. The name change has not been completed, as the ruling party and the main opposition Democratic Party remain at loggerheads over terminology -- the latter supports the use of the term gender equality.

The face-off surrounding the terminology between the People Power Party and Democratic Party is an ongoing issue. A resolution to ensure that women made up at least 30 percent of the candidates for the parliamentary election was thwarted recently, when the two parties failed to agree on whether to use gender equality or equality of both genders.

While Seoul's council member Hwang proposed the name change for the city's ordinance, it remained unclear if the revision would fall through, as the revision must be deliverated on by various council committees and be passed at the plenary meeting. The People Power Party has the overwhelming majority in the Seoul council, unlike in the Gyeonggi council, meaning the likelihood of a change in the ordinance's terminology is stronger in Seoul than it was in Gyeonggi.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)