Unification Ministry pledges more female speakers after British envoy withdraws from male-dominated forum

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday it will try to invite more female experts to speak at its events after British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks withdrew from a ministry-organized forum on Sept. 3 that predominantly features male panelists.

The all-male line-up of speakers listed on the Global Korea Forum's website before British Ambassador Colin Crooks withdrew from the event. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday it will try to invite more female experts to speak at its events after British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks withdrew from a ministry-organized forum on Sept. 3 that predominantly features male panelists.

The disappearance of the ambassador’s profile from the lineup of speakers on the website of the Global Korea Forum was first observed by Raphael Rashid, a regular contributor to The Guardian and freelance journalist, in a post uploaded to X on Tuesday.

A spokesperson from the British Embassy in Seoul told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Wednesday that the ambassador “is unable to take part in the Global Korea Forum next week” but did not give an explicit reason for his withdrawal.

However, the spokesperson noted that the embassy “is committed to gender equality,” adding that it “believes that events are enriched by the diversity of perspectives of those participating.”

An official from the Unification Ministry told the Korea JoongAng Daily on condition of anonymity that it had received word from the British Embassy that Crooks would not be able to attend, and that it “respects” the embassy’s position.

The official said that the ministry “understands the importance of gender equality and is working constantly to invite competent experts to its international conferences.”

The official also said that the ministry “does not discriminate based on nationality or gender” when sending out invitations to potential panelists, adding that “many female experts were unable to accept their invitations to the Global Korea Forum due to pre-existing commitments, such as academic conferences, university lectures, overseas trips and other personal reasons.”

The only female expert listed in the Global Korea Forum’s online speaker line-up on Wednesday was Yonsei University professor Chun Ja-hyun, who is scheduled to speak during the conference’s third session.

The section of the website that features the forum’s panelists was inaccessible on Thursday.

Chun was not listed as a speaker on the forum’s website at the time the British ambassador withdrew from the event.

The Unification Ministry official told the Korea JoongAng Daily that it is working to invite more female experts to the Global Korea Forum and other events in the future, including a seminar in November.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]