Lawmaker Yong Hye-in Named Gender Equality Minister Nominee

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- Yong Hye-in, a two-term lawmaker advocating universal basic income, was named Sunday as the nominee to head the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

As floor leader of the Basic Income Party, Yong, 36, has been a consistent voice for social minorities and labor rights.

Born in 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, she is known to have determined to enter politics after witnessing the families of Sewol ferry victims stage hunger strikes demanding a special law to properly investigate the 2014 disaster, one of the deadliest maritime tragedies in the country's history, which killed more than 300 people.

As a university student at the time of the sinking, she organized a "rally of silence" to honor the victims and protest the government's botched rescue operation.

The rally led to her indictment for violating relevant laws, and she was ultimately fined 1 million won (US$724).

She founded the Basic Income Party in 2020, with the goal of providing every citizen a universal basic income of 600,000 won a month. That same year, she entered the 21st National Assembly as a proportional representative.

She is known to share a friendly rapport with President Lee Jae Myung, rooted in their common belief in the need for basic income.

During the recent presidential election, Yong co-chaired the central campaign committee that helped secure Lee's victory.

The nomination makes Yong the first minister from the 1990s generation in the Lee administration.