This combined image shows an existing emergency exit sign, left, and a draft illustration featuring a feminized pictogram that the safety ministry is reportedly considering installing in new buildings. Captured from internet

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's supposed plan to modify the existing emergency exit sign to feature a character with long hair, breasts and a skirt has triggered fierce criticism, with opponents of the change claiming that associating women with such an image is outdated and sexist.

Controversies began on Friday after several local news outlets quoted unidentified safety ministry officials saying the ministry was considering installing new way-finding signs with female silhouettes on emergency exit signs.

Currently, emergency exit signs depict a person, which is presumed to be a man, in accordance with international standards. Since 1992, Korea has been using the green emergency exit sign that was adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1987.

The new sign would be used together with the existing one to better represent diversity, as complaints have sometimes arisen that the existing sign symbolizes only men, according to media reports on the issue.

Many internet users said, however, that the existing emergency exit sign represents a person, not specifically a man, and stressed that visual distinctions of women are outdated.

Huh Eun-ah, who served as a spokesperson for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and recently joined former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok's new party, joined the criticism, calling the plan a "waste of taxpayer money."

"The government must not play with people's tax money," Huh wrote on her Facebook profile. "No one thinks the emergency exit sign indicates that only men should evacuate in the event of an emergency."

In response, the safety ministry and the National Fire Agency, which is in charge of the installation and maintenance of emergency signs, released a joint statement, saying, "Nothing concrete has been decided."

They said the illustration with a woman figure, reported by some local media, is not a draft plan proposed by the government, noting that the new signs will only be chosen after collecting opinions from experts and the public.

They added, that even if a new sign is adopted, it will not be a waste of money as the new ones will not replace existing ones but be used in new installations, which should minimize any concerns around the use of public monies.

Similar attempts have been made abroad.

In 2020, the city of Geneva used a stylized image of a woman on half of its 500 pedestrian crosswalk signs in a move for greater diversity and gender equality. The female figure came in six different versions, including a pregnant woman, an older woman, a woman with an afro and two women holding hands.