[Politics X-File] Why Have We Never Had a Female Speaker of the National Assembly... Who Are the Leading Candidates?

23. The Glass Ceiling in Politics: The Speaker of the National Assembly
All Speakers Since the Constituent Assembly Have Been Male
Few Multi-term Female Lawmakers... Next Year, 4th-5th Term Female Lawmakers Will Challenge

Editor's Note‘Political X-File’ is a serialized project that delivers ‘unprecedented stories’ recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

What are some of the representative glass ceilings in politics, places where women have not been able to enter until now? South Korea is a country that has produced a female president. Given that a woman has held the highest position of power, does a ‘glass ceiling in politics’ really exist?

Not only ministerial positions but also the prime ministership are no longer exclusive to men. Considering that women make up half of South Korea’s population, more women need to advance into various positions. The National Assembly, as the hall of popular sovereignty, is a space where laws and systems must be refined to realize this undeniable task.

This means that women should not only ask for votes during elections but also play a substantial role in steering society in the right direction. The problem is that a representative glass ceiling in politics exists in the South Korean National Assembly.

Speaker Kim Jin-pyo is striking the gavel at the 4th plenary session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on April 13.

From the first National Assembly Speaker, Syngman Rhee, of the Constituent Assembly to the 21st National Assembly Speakers Park Byeong-seok and Kim Jin-pyo, all past National Assembly Speakers have been male. Not a single female Speaker has ever been elected.

The awkward equation of ‘National Assembly Speaker = Male’ continues even in the 2020s. Why has this dishonorable record, which has persisted from the 1950s to the 2020s, not changed? There is no clause in the National Assembly Act that prohibits electing a female Speaker, so why does the Assembly remain unchanged?

According to Article 15 of the National Assembly Act, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected by secret ballot in the Assembly and must receive a majority of the total members’ votes to be elected.

The election is held on the first convening day after the general election of members, and if the term of the initially elected Speaker or Deputy Speaker expires, the election is held five days before the expiration date.

If there are two or more candidates with the highest votes, a runoff vote is held among them, requiring a majority attendance of members and the candidate with the majority of votes among those present to be elected.

The method stipulated by the National Assembly Act is for members to gather in the plenary hall and elect the Speaker by secret ballot, choosing the candidate with the most votes. However, in reality, the majority party internally selects the Speaker candidate, and the person chosen in this way is generally elected through the plenary vote.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the case of the 21st National Assembly, the Speaker was elected through internal competition within the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds the majority of seats in the Assembly. Through this method, Park Byeong-seok and Kim Jin-pyo were elected as Speakers for the first and second halves of the 21st National Assembly, respectively. Both are male.

The 20th, 19th, 18th, and 17th National Assemblies also elected two Speakers each, but the gender composition was always exclusively male. Notably, during the 17th National Assembly, both the first half (Kim Won-ki) and second half (Lim Chae-jung) Speakers were former Dong-A Ilbo journalists.

There have been consecutive Speakers from specific media companies, but not a single woman, who make up half of South Korea’s population, has ever been elected Speaker.

The reason the pool of Speaker candidates is overwhelmingly male is closely related to the fact that there are few female lawmakers with multiple terms. While female lawmakers make up nearly half of proportional representation members, most constituency lawmakers are still male.

Even if women enter the Assembly through proportional representation, they need to establish a foothold in constituencies and grow into multi-term lawmakers, but the political reality is tough. They must overcome fierce nomination competition and then defeat opponents in the general election. The path is full of obstacles. Every four years, only a few survive this process, accumulate multi-term experience, and from among them, the pool of Speaker candidates is decided.

The recurring turnover at each general election is another hurdle for senior female politicians. While it is possible to build experience up to the second or third term, becoming a senior lawmaker with four or more terms is difficult for this reason.

So, who among the multi-term female lawmakers could be considered for the Speaker position in the 22nd National Assembly? Currently, a four-term lawmaker who wins the next general election will become a five-term lawmaker, and a five-term lawmaker will become a six-term lawmaker, laying the foundation to challenge for the Speaker position.

The appearance of the National Assembly building / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Among current lawmakers, the only female five-term lawmaker is Kim Young-sun of the People Power Party, representing Uichang District, Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province. If she is re-elected in the 22nd general election, she is a strong candidate to challenge for Speaker.

Among four-term lawmakers, female members include Kim Sang-hee and Kim Young-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea and Shim Sang-jung of the Justice Party. Kim Sang-hee represents Bucheon-si B, Gyeonggi Province; Kim Young-joo represents Yeongdeungpo Gap, Seoul; and Shim Sang-jung represents Goyang-si Gap Eul, Gyeonggi Province. If any of them survive the 22nd National Assembly election, they are also expected to challenge for Speaker.

Female lawmakers who have served three terms will become four-term lawmakers if re-elected in next year’s general election. Among them, some may aspire to become Speaker. However, if male lawmakers with five or six terms challenge for the Speaker position, four-term experience may be a disadvantage in the competition.

Not only current female lawmakers with four or more terms but also female politicians who have accumulated four or more terms but did not enter the 21st National Assembly could be among the candidates for Speaker depending on the results of the 22nd general election.

In the April 10th, next year’s 22nd general election, attention will focus on which female multi-term lawmakers survive and whether any of them will challenge for the Speaker position.