Kang Sun-woo: Welfare expert lawmaker tapped as gender minister

President Lee Jae Myung nominated Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Kang Sun-woo Monday as the first minister of gender equality and family in his incoming administration.

Born in Buk-gu, Daegu, Kang earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ewha Womans University and later obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, specializing in social welfare with a focus on child welfare and care policy.

A two-term lawmaker in the 21st and 22nd National Assembly, Kang served as the ruling party's executive secretary on the Health and Welfare Committee and was deputy chair of Lee’s Population Future Committee during the 2022 presidential election.

Upon her nomination, Kang vowed to “become a Gender Equality Ministry that warmly embraces the lives of all citizens.”

She pledged to “reach those in lower, more difficult, and more painful places,” offering hope through policy. Kang also said she would faithfully attend the upcoming National Assembly confirmation hearing.