South Korean Presidential Election Foreshadows Backsliding on Advances in Gender Equality

A crowd gathers in support of Yoon Suk-yeol before a press conference (Wikimedia Commons).

Conservative presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol narrowly won the South Korean election on March 9, 2022. During his campaign, Suk-yeol promised to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). By appealing to anti-feminists, Suk-yeol correctly predicted that he could sway young male voters towards his People Power Party (PPP). 

According to DW News, anti-feminist policies have been increasingly appealing to young Korean men who feel victimized by the incumbent Democratic president Moon Jae-in’s progressive policies. Jae-in increased the role of the Ministry of Gender Equality in state affairs, added women to political positions, and implemented policies to reduce hiring discrimination and the wage gap, The Korea Herald reported. 

In the eyes of young male voters, this progress has resulted in the discrimination of men. Duyeon Kim, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Taiwan News that these men were convinced that women experienced “preferential treatment” as a result of the new policies. South Korea’s patriarchal society has led young men to feel threatened and victimized by the increasing autonomy and influence of women in labor markets, academic institutions, and governmental organizations. A recent poll of South Korean men in their 20s revealed that 58.6% strongly opposed feminism, and 84% of men in their 20s and 30s believed that they have experienced “serious gender-based discrimination,” according to the CFR. 

The social norms of  South Korean culture have also shifted, with fewer women reporting that they are interested in sex, marriage, and child-rearing, according to UnHerd. Suk-yeol and the PPP attributed recently decreasing birth rates in the country to feminism while also outwardly opposing the increasingly popular #MeToo movement, according to TIME magazine.

Along with the increasing number of frustrated young men in South Korea, the country continues to rank low on global gender equality surveys. The wage gap in South Korea remains the largest of any OECD country, according to the CFR. The CFR also found that young South Korean women experience high rates of harassment and assault due to the rise of anti-feminist and anti-women rhetoric in the country. South Korean woman Hong Hee-jin criticized the PPP for convincing young men that their struggles “stem from women receiving too many benefits,” and she salutes the “[h]undreds of women [who] have marched in protest against the ‘election of misogyny,’' according to the South China Morning Post.

Suk-yeol’s opposing presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), received support from women who rejected the PPP’s anti-feminist politics, according to the CFR. Jae-myung had committed to closing the significant gender wage gap, limiting discrimination against women in hiring, and increasing the number of women involved in nation’s political processes if elected.

Suk-yeol’s election revealed a distinct split along gender lines, with political forecasters predicting that the anti-feminist platform that propelled Suk-yeol to victory may backfire in the long run, The Straits Times reported. His alienation of young women has significantly altered the South Korean electorate’s voting preferences, which could be harmful to the PPP in light of the upcoming 2024 parliamentary election.

Suk-yeol’s election will likely signify a regression away from the promises of gender equality during the Moon Jae-in administration. For women in South Korea, this election could have significant consequences on their efforts to socially, politically, and economically level the playing field with their male counterparts.