Choo Mi-ae, right, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province, speaks during a campaign attended by DPK leader Jung Chung-rae at a traditional market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, May 29. Yonhap
Choo Mi-ae, a ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate who has repeatedly shattered gender barriers throughout her career, broke new ground again, as she was projected to secure the governorship in Gyeonggi Province in the local elections, Wednesday.
If her victory is confirmed, she will be the first woman to lead a provincial or metropolitan government.
Choo garnered 60.4 percent of votes against the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) Yang Hyang-ja at 34.1 percent in a joint exit poll conducted by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS.
The surveys had margins of error ranging from 1.7 to 4.1 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.
The historic provincial contest between two women drew attention throughout the country.
The projected victory marks another milestone in Choo’s career, which has been defined by a series of remarkable achievements for a woman across the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
Among those achievements are becoming the first female judge elected to the National Assembly, the first woman to serve six terms in parliament and the first elected female leader of a ruling party.
She served as a judge for 10 years until 1995, when she entered politics after being recruited by Kim Dae-jung, who was leading the main opposition liberal party at the time and was elected president in 1997.
First elected to the National Assembly in 1996, Choo served six terms over the next 30 years before resigning from her seat earlier this year to run for the Gyeonggi governorship.
Source: Korea Times News
