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| Shin Ji-ye, 27-year-old Seoul mayoral candidate for the Green Party Korea, poses for an interview with The Korea Times at the party office in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Park Ji-won
Not many expected Shin Ji-ye, a 27-year-old Seoul mayoral candidate for the Green Party Korea, to become famous after the June 13 local elections.
The youngest-ever candidate for Seoul mayor landed in fourth place with 82,874 votes (1.67 percent) in the elections, following former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (19.5 percent), even beating the candidate from the Justice Party, a well-established minor opposition party.
She was the first-ever candidate who presented herself as a "feminist" on campaign posters. Her party is little known to people because of a lack of campaign funds.
"About 83,000 Seoul citizens sympathized with the need for a feminist mayor," Shin told The Korea Times.
"Although the election is over, it (feminist politics) is not over, as an election in a democracy is not about winning or losing," she said. "Together with these 83,000 people, this election was about getting more people involved in politics. As the number of people who don't support specific parties or organizations but have a desire for a new politics has increased, they started to pay attention to the Green Party."
Amid a long-built anti-feminist sentiment in Korea, despite the recent spread of the #MeToo and #WithYou movements, she is still a rare figure on the political scene. President Moon Jae-in and Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea have called themselves feminists, but this is not likely their dominant identity.
As to the election poster with the word feminist, some people, including a famous human rights lawyer, criticized her appearance on the poster as being "too arrogant for a woman." Also, her posters were damaged often during the election period: some posters were torn down from walls and her eyes in other posters were pierced. Two people were caught defacing Shin's posters, which is a violation of the Election Law.
When asked about the attacks, she said she wasn't afraid for her safety but thought men in their 50s and older were behind the times as most of the attackers were such people.
Ironically, she gained more popularity as a politician because of the attacks. But she says she never meant to become a politician until the moment came along for her to realize the importance of politics.
"There was an old building called Buheung Jutaek, where many people including me and old people had lived for many years. But we had to be kicked out of the building as it was legal for the landlord to make us leave. I realized society doesn't change only by having good will together. It is about politics."
She decided to become a feminist politician based on a childhood experience. She had a conversation with her female friends and learned they all have experienced gender discrimination and sexual violence. She dropped out of high school as she didn't agree with what the school forced her to do, such as limitations on students' hairstyles. She learned about feminism in a curriculum at an alternative school.
"I realized that not only me but no woman is free from gender discrimination," she said.
Embracing feminism as a key identity for herself, "her personal became political."
Her campaign pledges were concentrated on gender equality: She promised to end sexual violence and gender discrimination by supporting the vulnerable and victims through setting up necessary municipal ordinances.
She criticized President Moon for not providing opinions on the abortion law, saying he is not a feminist. In Korea, abortion is illegal and many women's groups say the law is outdated.
"The abortion issue is about making a law. Moon has the right to propose a revision bill. He didn't do anything but is waiting for the Constitutional Court's decision. I don't think Moon is a feminist."
When it comes to abortion laws, she pointed out related policies are also outdated. "The laws are restricting women's human rights. That's why we need more younger and new politicians."
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| Shin at the Green Party Korea's office in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
She is back to her original job making products with 3D printers at her startup company Today Maker, and continues to be a politician serving as chairwoman for the Green Party's Seoul branch.
Shin hopes to become a politician who can form a new political landscape where people, especially women, can develop themselves into politicians or chase their dreams in their daily lives even if they do not become politicians. Also, she pledged to make every effort to win her party at least one seat at the National Assembly in the next general election in 2020.
"The feminist politics that I pursue are to represent every person, especially those who have been oppressed by the patriarchy for hundreds of years. We didn't choose our sex when we were born, but are discriminated against because of it. By representing those being discriminated against, we can move toward abolishing sexual discrimination. In that context, I will advocate the rights of sexual minorities and the handicapped," she said.
"Being elected can be one goal, but I want to work in politics as a member of a party having an Assembly seat which has the right to make laws, especially gender equality laws. This election was a stepping stone for that."
