Aides to Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a potential presidential candidate from the Bareun Party, on Friday defended his remarks that he hopes to close down the gender ministry and disperse its functions to other executive departments.

Yoo made the remark during a TV interview on Thursday, sparking heated discussion on online forums with some calling it a patriarchal and chauvinistic idea.

He criticized the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for failing to perform its role as an independent ministry.

"I'm not sure if even women actually like the existence of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family," Yoo said. "I believe various issues directly facing women including workplace discrimination can be transferred to the labor or welfare ministries."

An official of his campaign team said his plan focuses on reorganizing the government structure in a more productive and efficient way.

"It is not about shutting down a ministry whose existence is reverse discrimination against males. He is considering a kind of constructive dissolution," he said.

"Currently, the gender ministry fails to get results, and its identity remains ambiguous." (Yonhap)