The government will present a new goal on gender equality as early as next week, having abandoned the time frame for its long-stated aim of raising women's share of leadership roles in the country's workforce to at least 30 percent by the end of this year, sources said Wednesday.

Under its new basic plan for gender equality, the government will no longer put the target at "2020" but replace it with "as quickly as possible," as the ratio of female leaders still remains low after the target was first set in 2003.

A panel will discuss the fifth basic plan for gender equality for the next five years, with a Cabinet decision made possibly in December.