Kang Seon-woo, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee, has come under controversy for paying a fine for violating traffic signals in a school zone three years after it was imposed.
It has been revealed that Kang left the fine unpaid for three years, only settling it shortly after being nominated as the Minister. Notably, Kang had previously proposed legislation in her role as a member of the National Assembly that called for stricter penalties for traffic violations in school zones, raising concerns about her moral consistency.
According to data released by Han Ji-a, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party on the 8th, Kang received a fine of 93,100 won for violating traffic signals and directions in a school zone in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at around 9:27 PM on December 28, 2022.
However, this fine was only paid on the 24th of last month, nearly three years after it was imposed, and the day after the announcement of the appointment of the Minister of Gender Equality and Family under the Lee Jae-myung government.
Kang, who had previously proposed legislation to strengthen school zone regulations, failed to pay her own violation fine.
Further controversy surrounds the fact that during her tenure as a member of the 21st National Assembly, on August 10, 2020, Kang directly proposed an amendment to the Road Traffic Act that would impose stricter penalties for violations of signals in school zones.
The amendment Kang proposed included provisions to increase the penalties for individuals who violate signals or directions three times or more in children's protection zones or exceed speed limits.
In response, Kang's team stated, "At the time, my secretary was driving, so the fine was under the jurisdiction of my office."
However, in the political sphere, there are criticisms regarding the moral hazard represented by Kang, who emphasized the importance of traffic law compliance as the proposer of the legislation yet allowed her own related fine to remain unpaid for an extended period.
Meanwhile, Kang also received fines of 70,000 won and 44,080 won for signal and direction violations, as well as for not using turn signals on May 3 and June 2 of last year, respectively.
Image source: Kang Seon-woo, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, shares her thoughts while arriving at the personnel hearing office established in the IMA Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of June 26. 2025.6.26 / News1, reference photo for article understanding / Photo = Insight
