marginality is also partly caused by women themselves who did not push women-centered
agenda including women’s political representation. Traditionally, women’s organization
or social activism hardly focused on women specific issues while pursuing non-political,
and non-engagement separatist strategies.
The past few years witnessed many changes occurring in South Korea. Women's
organizations have aggressively demanded the creation of a quota system, fair elections
and enlarged electoral districts with multiple-member districts and limited campaign
spending. Women’s political empowerment has emerged in many women’s
organization’s agenda for action. With the development of women-specific offices in the
government, collaborative working relationships are formed between government and
women’s organizations on various women-specific issues. Departing from their earlier
positions, so-called “radical” women’s organizations are more engaged in these
institutional reforms (e.g., participation in the government funding projects). Importantly,
more women in the NA have a feminist consciousness and are willing to work together as
a cohesive group to promote women-specific issues, regardless of their party membership.
And they were instrumental in the development of a series of new legal frameworks for
women-specific issues (e.g., women’s development laws, gender equality laws, a generous
maternity law). This involved the initiation of legal reforms as well as persuading fellow
male NA members and other government policy-makers to support the passage of laws.
These women legislators also have been important channels for local women’s
organizations and government offices concerning gender-specific issues (e.g., The
Ministry of Gender Equality) in bringing their agenda to the NA forum. Clearly, this is a
departure from women’s legislative leadership in the past when women NA member’s
party loyalty often overruled women-specific issues. Given various political situations in
South Korea (e.g., regionalism, electoral system, party politics, andro-centric political
culture) women may endure long years until they gain substantial political power in formal
institutions. And yet, recent developments in the policy-making structure, changes in
women’s organizations and the yoseong kye leadership (including in the NA) should be
interpreted as a positive sign.
In sum, this paper analyzed the particularities of the South Korea’s power structure,
political system, political culture and women’s movement, and how they have affected
women’s political marginality in representation politics as well as new emerging issues.
In recent years, new faces are emerging as new power elites such as the younger “386”
generations. They are known as more reform-oriented, “progressive,” or “radical” in
Convention