Voters send record number of women to Korea's parliament

General election 2024

Published: 12 Apr. 2024, 17:42 Updated: 14 Apr. 2024, 18:31

Voters send record number of women to Korea's parliament

The People Power Party's Na Kyung-won, left, gives her acceptance speech after winning in Seoul's Dongjak-B District on Thursday. The Democratic Party's Choo Mi-ae, right, waves to Hanam residents after securing a seat for the Hanam-A constituency on Thursday. [YONHAP, NEWS1]

The April 10 general election saw a record 36 women directly elected to seats in the 22nd National Assembly, breaking the previous high of 29 women elected to the 21st National Assembly in 2020.

A total of 97 women ran for the 254 directly elected seats in the latest parliamentary election.

Of these candidates, 41 were from the liberal Democratic Party (DP), 30 from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and six from the Reform Party led by former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok.

The minor progressive Justice Party, with Rep. Sim Sang-jeung as its floor leader, fielded seven candidates, while the Saemirae Party had three, the Progressive Party had five, and the far-right Liberty Unification Party had two.

According to electoral results released by the National Election Commission on Thursday, 36 women lawmakers were elected, 24 from the DP and 12 from the PPP.

In Seoul, female candidates won in several constituencies.

The DP’s Jeon Hyun-heui clinched victory over another female candidate, the PPP’s Yun Hee-suk, for Jung-Seongdong-A District, a key battleground in the so-called Han River belt.

In Gangdong-A, Jin Sun-mee of the DP was reelected after a nail-biting vote count, winning over the PPP’s Jun Ju-hyae.

In Gwangjin-B, the DP's Ko Min-jung, who served as a spokesperson for former President Moon Jae-in, beat PPP former lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan after a close race.

The DP’s Nam In-soon seized victory, defeating PPP’s Kim Keun-sik in Songpa-C.

The PPP's Na Kyung-won clinched a victory over Ryu Sam-young of the DP in Dongjak-B, the most visited constituency in Seoul by DP leader Lee Jae-myung during the election campaign period.

Following the result, Na will return to the National Assembly for her fifth term as a lawmaker.

Bae Hyun-jin of the PPP faced the DP’s Song Ki-ho in Songpa-B and secured a seat in the National Assembly for the second time.

In Gyeonggi, the DP’s Lee Jae-jung won in Anyang Dongan-B against Shim Jae-cheol of the PPP, securing her third term as a lawmaker.

The PPP’s Kim Eun-hye, a former senior secretary for public relations, ran for Seongnam Bundang-B and defeated the DP’s Kim Byung-wook, while the DP’s Choo Mi-ae beat Rep. Lee Yong of the PPP for Hanam-A, proceeding on to her sixth term as lawmaker.

In North Gyeongsang, several PPP female candidates secured seats in the 22nd National Assembly.

The PPP’s Kim Jung-jae clinched victory in Pohang Buk, while PPP Rep. Lim Lee-ja won in the Sangju-Mungyeong constituency. Cho Ji-yeon, a newbie politician, secured a seat in the Gyeongsan constituency.

In the past, female lawmakers were scarcely seen in the National Assembly.

From the Constituent National Assembly (1948-1950) to the 10th National Assembly, only a handful of women, such as Lim Yeong-sin (1899-1977), Park Soon-cheon (1898-1983) and Park Hyun-sook (1896-1980), served as lawmakers.

It wasn't until the 15th National Assembly that women began to serve as lawmakers in earnest.

Two women candidates were elected to the 15th National Assembly as district representatives. In the 2000 general election for the 16th National Assembly, five of 33 female candidates secured seats in the parliament.

For the 17th National Assembly, 10 of 65 female candidates became lawmakers, as did 14 of 132 for the 18th National Assembly.

The number ran to 19 of 63 candidates for the 19th National Assembly, 26 of 98 for the 20th National Assembly and 29 of 209 for the 21st National Assembly.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]