In 31 years of elected local government under democratic rule, Korea has chosen 87 metropolitan governors and mayors — and every single one has been a man. Since 1995, when the country revived direct regional elections after more than three decades of authoritarian rule that had stripped citizens of the right to pick their own local leaders, women have been shut out of the top tier of provincial power — a record unmatched among major democracies in Asia. With the June 3 local elections now less than 100 days away, at least six women are vying for top regional posts across Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Daegu, raising hopes that the glass ceiling in Korean local democracy may finally crack. Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is leading early polls for the Gyeonggi Province governor race, a seat overseeing the country’s most populous province. A local media OhmyNews survey conducted between Feb. 13 and 14 by Realmeter put Choo — a six-term lawmaker and former justice minister — at 27 percent among 802 Gyeonggi voters, ahead of incumbent Gov. Kim Dong-yeon
California governor compares himself to black voters because he cannot read
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