Political Education and Training for Korean Women

Lee, Seung Ryul
Chairperson, International Relations Committee, Korea Women's Hot Line
President, Pusan Women's Hot Line

1.	The political participation of Korean women

       1) The lowest ranking in the world
For Korean women, gaining entry into political circles is still as difficult as plucking a star from the sky. After the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the government published the Basic Law for Women's Development and Basic Plan for Policy on Women, instituting goals and fundamental strategies that included the promotion of equality between men and women, the expansion of women’s social participation, and the improvement of women’s welfare. Women's NGOs, through the remarkable efforts of each group, have worked extremely hard to ensure that the new government policy reflected women's demands and to expand women's social participation. However, women's political participation remains extremely sluggish, and in future a more active, organized, and rational strategy for our movement will be necessary. According to the results of a 1995 UNDP global ranking of countries based on women's political empowerment, out of 116 countries, China was 23rd, the Philippines were 28th, Singapore was 35th, Malaysia was 49th, Thailand was 54th, Indonesia was 56th, Nepal was 73rd, and South Korea at 90th was among the lowest-ranked countries in Asia.  

If only the numbers of women in national legislatures are considered, then at 111th South Korea is one of the lowest-ranked of all 116 countries, with only five countries such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates ranked lower.  

Through all the National Assemblies in South Korea's history, an average of 2.3% of assembly members have been women, and in the current 15th Assembly, 3.0% of members are women.  

       2) Results of the 2nd nationwide 4-level local government elections  

* Number of women elected through the local government elections (1998)
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                             Total Women Ratio of women (1995)
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Head of Municipal-level:           16          0             0 %   (0%)     
Head of District-level:            232          0             0 %   (0.43%)
Member of Municipal Council:     690         41            5.94 %  (5.65%)
Member of District Council:      3490         56            1.60 %  (1.56%)
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In the June 4 local government elections in 1998, not one woman was elected as head of any of the district-level or municipal or mayor-level local government positions. Also, out of 690 total members of the municipal council, only 41 were women, or 5.94%. Comparing this with 5.76% in 1995, we can say there was almost no change.  

Among the district council members, 56 were women, or 1.60% of the total 3490 members.  Again, this is almost unchanged from 1995's figure of 1.56%.  This has meant tremendous disappointment for women's groups as well as a sizable symbolic step backwards.  

The reality is that, compared to the UN recommendation that by 1995 women's political participation be guaranteed at 30%, in South Korea we can barely achieve even 5%.
Intimately aware of these political realities, Korean women NGOs feel keenly the need for new countermeasures in dealing with the political parties, awareness education for women voters, and recruitment, cultivation, and training for women politicians.  

        3) Reasons for the low degree of women's political participation

First, women are excluded from the public nomination process by a number of factors, including an unfair social bias against women's participation, the common perception that the political sphere is a male domain, and the parties' fears that women candidates will be defeated.  

Second, there has been insufficient solidarity and support among the central and local governments and women's NGOs for the recruitment, cultivation, and training of women political leaders, the awareness education of voters, and the organized movement for women candidates.  

Third, political parties have made insufficient effort to recruit and cultivate women candidates.  The parties wait until an election is approaching, and then they select women candidates recommended by women's groups, only as a tactic to attract female votes.  Because of the short-term nature of this selection process, it is very difficult to identify qualified women candidates.    

Fourth, women candidates, with inferior funding and organizational support, are at a disadvantage under the existing electoral laws and single-member electorate system.  
Women are excluded from the political structure with its high expenses and its irrational system in which candidates use any means necessary to get elected.  

2.  Plan of education and training for women's political participation.  

        1)  Recruitment and cultivation of women candidates by political parties

To undertake the education of women political leaders, the political parties must bring women into their internship system.   The parties can act to dissolve their image of unfairness, in accordance with their expressed intention of increasing women’s political participation, by cultivating competent women politicians.  

        2) Women's organizations' support activities related to politics

Specialized organizations can be entrusted with supporting the institution of programs that cultivate women political leaders, establishing educational facilities for leadership, operating leadership training, and so on.  Also, indirect methods of support can be made more efficient.  

        3) Developing a model for women's political education that makes the best use of regional characteristics.  

 -- Support for the operation of education that suits regional characteristics 
 -- Support for the establishment of legislative participation groups

        4) Campaigning for women politicians through the media

We must campaign for impartial coverage of women politicians and for the production of educational broadcasts and public service announcements that can enhance political awareness and revise sexist attitudes.  

        5) Women NGO's course for the cultivation and election support of women politicians

 -- Recruitment and cultivation of women candidates and the strengthening of education and leadership training
 -- Establishing opportunities for substantial education and educating women in methods of leadership training, election tactics and election movement
 -- Developing joint activities for the public nomination of women candidates and the expansion of support
 -- Actively leading political activities in the women's, citizens', and political movement, and creating a "human resources bank" for the recruitment of women leaders  
 -- Organizing consultation and counseling for women candidates, and insisting on active countermeasures such as assisting a women's political financial aid association.  

Women are vulnerable on the basis of financial, organizational, and social power and are disadvantaged in the public nomination process.   Under the current systems of the single-member electorate and the majority vote, in particular it is almost impossible for women, who do not hold high-ranking party posts, to be nominated.  

The existing election system is that out of 299 seats in the National Assembly, 253 are elected from the districts and the rest of 46 are elected as national proportional representatives according to the proportion of the votes each party earns.  To promote women's political participation, we must make efforts to establish systems for the inclusion of women in the parties' list of candidates as proportional representatives in district election.  The more than twofold increase in the number of elected women in both France and England’s 1997 general elections is the result of their adoption of a quota system for women candidates.  

3.  Strengthening governmental support for the cultivation of women politicians

Article 15 of the Basic Law for Women’s Development, released by the government after the Beijing Women’s Conference, clearly states,  "The national and local governments must devise in each committee and policy-making process a plan to expand women’s political participation.   The national and local governments must endeavor through various methods to support the expansion of women’s political participation."  

Also, the First Basic Plan for Policy on Women, released in October 1997, lists the following areas of emphasis in the section on the expansion of women's political participation, "Development of education programs to improve citizen awareness of women's political participation; diffusion among citizen organizations and social education facilities that are conducting citizen awareness education, operation of cooperative exchange with women’s organizations that are working on recruitment of women candidates and  voter awareness   education; and research  on  system reform  for the expansion of women's political participation."  Accordingly, governmental groups at the national and local level must undertake active management of the following projects in order to support women's political participation.  

First, the government must support women's organizations and research institutions that are working to administer direct programs in women’s political education, establish women's support funds, cultivate young women leaders, and conduct voter awareness education.  Second, it must establish a women's quota of at least 30% in nominations and at least 50% in the distribution of proportional representatives.  It must establish the systematic installation of a quota of at least 30% women in all governmental committees and high-ranking posts.   

Third, the creation of a women’s development fund in the election administration committee, and methods of support in the parties, are also necessary.  

4.  Strategies for women's political education and training

First, it is necessary to form networks among women voters, women candidates, women legislators, women politicians, political parties, women NGOs, research institutions and academic circles, national and local governments, and the mass media, and to work together on the mutual exchange of information and cooperative examination of the problem.  

Second, women candidates should participate with an active attitude and conviction in the activities of women's groups, society, and political parties and in education programs and leadership training for women candidates.  

Third, women NGOs should provide support for the recruitment, cultivation, and election of women candidates as well as for the political awareness education of women voters.  In addition, they should conduct movements for the creation of a special support fund for women politicians, the cultivation of election movement volunteers, liaison with candidates during elections, electoral system reform, the demand for instituting a quota system, revision of habitual practices of sex discrimination, and political reform and fair elections.  

Fourth, the government must support the revision of electoral laws related to women's Representation; take charge of creating a plan and fund to support women's political Participation, the recruitment and cultivation of women candidates, the cultivation of Young leaders, and the awareness education of voters; and support women’s Organizations.  The government should also stimulate the establishment of a plan to Guarantee women's political participation within each party and the creation of political education institutions through party deliberation.  

References (all in Korean language): 

Kim Su-euk, Second Pusan Conference on Policy on Women, July 1998.  

Korea Women's Development Institution, International Seminar on Policy to
Support Women's Participation in Political Parties, 1995.  

Cho Seon-hyeong, Strategy and Plan for the Expansion of Korean Women's
Political Participation, 1996.  

Inch'eon Women's Hot Line, Local Government and Women's Political Participation.  

Women's Newspaper, Analysis of the Results of Women Candidates' Campaigns in the June 4 Local Elections.