{"id":2196507,"date":"2022-06-02T18:06:58","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T09:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2196507"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:19","slug":"local-election-defeat-a-reckoning-for-south-korean-liberals-on-gender-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/06\/local-election-defeat-a-reckoning-for-south-korean-liberals-on-gender-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Local election defeat a reckoning for South Korean liberals on gender issues"},"content":{"rendered":"
Another election, another demoralizing loss for South Korea\u2019s Democratic Party. The results of Wednesday\u2019s local elections were full of concerning numbers for Seoul\u2019s liberals: They suffered defeats in 12 of 17 key mayoral and gubernatorial elections and five of seven legislative by-elections.<\/span><\/p>\n But one set of numbers should be of special concern: turnout among young women voters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Only 35.8% of women in their 20s and 41.9% of women in their 30s <\/span>voted<\/span><\/a>, relative to an overall turnout of 50.9%. Both demographics are down 15-20 points from the 2018 local elections, which the Democrats won convincingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In most electoral democracies, young women are among the liberal party\u2019s most reliable constituencies. But in their extended fall from grace, Seoul\u2019s liberals appear to have driven them away from the polls in droves.<\/span><\/p>\n While these numbers exist within the context of an overall low-turnout year, they are nevertheless surprising given the increasing prominence of gender issues in Korean politics. On the campaign trail and in the early days of his presidency, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol has <\/span>displayed<\/span><\/a> a proclivity toward anti-feminist dog whistles: from a declaration that \u201cinstitutional misogyny no longer exists\u201d to his repudiation of \u201cgender quotas\u201d in his predecessor\u2019s cabinet \u2014 rhetoric that became reality when Yoon initially appointed a nearly all-male cabinet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While Yoon has made an effort to appear more inclusive in recent weeks, Seoul\u2019s conservatives still have a long way to go before they escape their reputation as the party of <\/span>angry and resentful young men<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n These conservative missteps should have led to an unprecedented mobilization of young women voters behind the Democratic banner. The reason it hasn\u2019t is simple: While their conservative rivals have loudly taken a side in the newly emerging culture wars, Democrats have not emerged as a credible counterweight. To the contrary, they have left voters of both sexes who support gender equality unsure about whose side they are even on.<\/span><\/p>\n