Gyeonggi Province governor-elect shatters glass ceiling, eyes 2030 presidential race

Democratic Party of Korea candidate Choo Mi-ae reacts after watching exit poll results at her campaign office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday, during the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections. [Joint press corps]
Democratic Party of Korea candidate Choo Mi-ae reacts after watching exit poll results at her campaign office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday, during the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections. [Joint press corps]

Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea has become the first woman in South Korean constitutional history to be elected head of a regional government, cementing her status as a leading contender for the next presidential race after winning the governorship of Gyeonggi Province — the country's largest local authority.

"I want to repay the love the residents have shown me through good governance and outstanding administration," Choo said Thursday. Her victory also gives the Democratic Party an unprecedented third consecutive hold on the Gyeonggi governorship, following Lee Jae Myung and Kim Dong-yeon.

Since the first nationwide simultaneous local elections in 1995, women have consistently put their names forward for regional government head races, only to fall short each time.

The closest any woman had come to breaking through were People Power Party candidate Kim Eun-hye in the 2022 Gyeonggi gubernatorial race and Democratic Party candidate Han Myeong-sook in the 2010 Seoul mayoral race.

In 2022, Kim came agonizingly close, trailing Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon by just 0.15 percentage points in a race that remained too close to call until the morning after election day, falling just short of making history.

In the fifth local elections in 2010, Han lost to Oh Se-hoon of the Grand National Party — the predecessor of the People Power Party — by 0.2 percentage points.

In the April 7, 2021 by-elections, former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun ran as the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral candidate but lost to People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon by 18.3 percentage points, receiving 39.2 percent of the vote.

In this local election cycle, women accounted for just five of the 51 regional government head candidates — 9.8 percent — roughly half the 18.2 percent share recorded in the 2022 local elections. Choo was the only one to win.

In the eighth local elections in 2022, all 10 female candidates who ran for regional government head posts were defeated.

Choo's campaign materials described her as "a prepared candidate who has experienced all three branches of government — legislative, judicial and executive" — a reputation built on principled decision-making and a drive to see things through.

A native of Daegu, Choo began her career as a judge before entering politics in 1995 at the invitation of then-New Politics People's Congress leader Kim Dae-jung.

During the 1997 presidential election, she led a campaign unit dubbed the "Joan of Arc Squad" in the conservative stronghold of Daegu, contributing to Kim Dae-jung's victory and earning the nickname "Choo d'Arc." In the 2002 presidential race, she headed the Citizens' Participation Movement Headquarters — a core arm of Roh Moo-hyun's campaign — and took to the streets with a piggy bank to collect public donations, picking up the affectionate nickname "Pig Mom."

Choo entered the National Assembly in 1996, winning the Gwangjin-eul constituency in Seoul in the 15th general election. She went on to represent the same district in the 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th Assemblies. She was elected Democratic Party leader at the party's national convention in 2020 and served as justice minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, clashing with then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol in what became known as the "Choo-Yoon conflict."

In the 22nd general election, she was strategically nominated in Hanam-gap, Gyeonggi Province, and won the seat. Though widely expected to be elected speaker of the 22nd National Assembly for the first half of its term, she lost the internal primary to Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. She then took the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where she led the passage of legislation aimed at reforming the prosecution.

With Choo having led polls throughout the local election campaign, attention has already turned to what comes next. Her term as Gyeonggi governor is set to end just as the 2030 presidential election approaches, opening a clear path for a presidential bid.

Meanwhile, People Power Party Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja conceded defeat late Wednesday, around 11 p.m. "I fell far short," she said. "I humbly accept the will of the people of Gyeonggi Province, as expressed through Wednesday's vote."

Extending congratulations to Choo, Yang added: "I earnestly ask that you use the fierce competition and debate of this campaign as a foundation, devote yourself to an administration that looks only to the residents, and work toward a united Gyeonggi Province."


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