'Choo d'Arc' makes history as first female regional chief; Park Chan-dae reclaims Incheon

Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea has become governor of Gyeonggi Province — the country's largest local government — making her the first woman in South Korean constitutional history to lead a metropolitan or provincial administration and instantly elevating her to the ranks of prospective presidential contenders.

"I want to repay the love the residents have shown me with good governance and outstanding administration," Choo said Thursday. Her victory also means the Democratic Party has produced three consecutive Gyeonggi governors: Lee Jae Myung, Kim Dong-yeon and now Choo Mi-ae.

Since the first nationwide simultaneous local elections in 1995, women candidates have consistently sought regional government posts, only to fall short each time. The closest calls came from People Power Party candidate Kim Eun-hye in the 2022 Gyeonggi gubernatorial race and Democratic Party candidate Han Myeong-sook, who ran for Seoul mayor in 2010.

In 2022, Kim trailed Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon in a neck-and-neck contest that stretched into the morning after election day, ultimately losing by just 0.15 percentage points — missing the historic milestone by the narrowest of margins. In the 2010 local elections, Han lost to then-Grand National Party candidate Oh Se-hoon by 0.2 percentage points.

In this year's local elections, women made up just five of the 51 regional government candidates — 9.8 percent, roughly half the 18.2 percent share recorded in the 2022 local elections. Choo was the only one to win. In the 8th local elections in 2022, all 10 women who ran for regional government posts were defeated.

A native of Daegu, Choo is a former judge who entered politics in 1995 at the urging of then-New Politics People's Congress president Kim Dae-jung. During the 1997 presidential election, she led a campaign brigade called the "Joan of Arc Corps" in the conservative stronghold of Daegu, helping secure Kim's victory and earning herself the nickname "Choo d'Arc."

She won a National Assembly seat in the 15th general election in 1996, running in Seoul's Gwangjin-eul constituency, and went on to represent the same district in the 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th Assemblies. She was elected Democratic Party leader at the party's 2020 national convention and served as minister of justice under President Moon Jae-in. In that role, she clashed sharply with then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol in what became known as the "Choo-Yoon conflict."

In the 22nd general election, she was strategically nominated in Hanam-gap, Gyeonggi Province, and won. She had been widely expected to become speaker of the 22nd National Assembly's first half, but lost the internal primary to Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. She subsequently chaired the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where she steered the passage of legislation aimed at reforming the prosecution.

Choo led polls throughout the campaign, and her victory has drawn attention not only to her tenure as governor but to what comes after. Her term as Gyeonggi governor is set to expire around the time of the 2030 presidential election, opening a potential path to a presidential bid.

In Incheon, Democratic Party candidate Park Chan-dae defeated incumbent Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of the People Power Party to reclaim the post. "The citizens have made a decisive choice for a great Incheon," Park said. "I will take it as their mandate to move beyond stagnation and toward growth." The victory avenges the party's defeat in Incheon four years ago.