[These Politicians] "Enduring is also Courage" Im Mi-ae, Chairman of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea

Former Ewha Womans University Student Council President Living as a Farmer in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk
Won Local and Regional Assembly Seats in Gyeongbuk under the Democratic Party Banner
"Must Break Winner-Takes-All, Need to Introduce Regional Proportional Representation System"

The colors of life are diverse. For some, it is black; for others, yellow. There are differences, but no hierarchy. The same goes for politicians. Although they belong to different parties, each has its own color and story. They receive much criticism but move forward with patience, carrying a vision to change society. Among them, we met Im Mi-ae, the Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee.

Im, a member of the class of 1984 from Ewha Womans University’s Department of Economics, was the president of the Ewha Womans University student council during the June Democratic Uprising in 1987. After graduation, unlike many other '386 activist' alumni, she moved down to Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, and became a farmer. She was 28 years old. Some around her looked askance, saying, “How long will you live here?” but raising two boys, she has now become a full-fledged 'Uiseong person.'

Im Mi-ae, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee, is moving feed to feed the cattle she was raising. / Photo by Naju Seok

A Debt of the Heart Changed Her Life

"My husband (former National Assembly member Kim Hyun-kwon) moved down in 1991, and I followed in 1992. At that time, many people went to factories or rural areas, but I was relatively late. Around the time I graduated in 1988, I was wanted by the authorities, but after the investigation and the case was closed, I spent three years with the Democratic Family Movement for Democratization (Minkahyeop). I felt I couldn’t delay any longer."

Why did she choose the countryside?

"I had a kind of debt in my heart. Although I didn’t grow up in the countryside, during my freshman year at university, I participated in rural volunteer work and worked in a tobacco field. The sun was scorching, the tobacco leaves towered over me, and the leaves were so large that the wind didn’t pass through?it felt like I was going to die. I was only supposed to work for about a week and then go home, but I thought that was cowardly. I verbally told those people, ‘You shouldn’t leave farming,’ and ‘The countryside is so important,’ but I was hypocritical myself. This debt of the heart hasn’t disappeared easily. Whenever I go to the field, I think I should go to the countryside, not factories or other places. I can’t just say something and then pretend it’s not true."

After moving to Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, her husband’s hometown, Im has lived there ever since. The spirited new bride who once said, “Would you rather cook or work? I’ll work,” has now become a veteran who can prepare side dishes just by going out to the fields. Her entry into politics was the result of a combination of chance and inevitability. After the wind of Roh Moo-hyun swept through Uiseong, the couple’s lives changed.

"I never thought I would go into politics. I just found it hard to make a living farming. But my husband was active in the Roh Moo-hyun Supporters (Nosamo) in 2002. When the national primary system was introduced, people who wanted to make Roh Moo-hyun a candidate were moving vigorously. My husband was one of them. But even though the president changed, nothing else changed. At that time, some people who wanted to run as candidates for the Uri Party didn’t align with Roh Moo-hyun’s reform spirit, so my husband decided to run and entered the election."

When her husband ran in the 2004 general election, Im also jumped into politics.

"During President Roh Moo-hyun’s term, election laws changed, making campaign regulations stricter. Campaigners and speakers had to register the day before to get on the campaign vehicle, but we couldn’t find anyone to give speeches. Until the election, I didn’t realize how much resistance there was against the Democratic Party in the region. Eventually, since we couldn’t find a speaker, I stepped up as a speaker."

Despite Im’s efforts to take the podium after a long time, her husband Kim Hyun-kwon lost with 18.7% of the vote. Kim later entered the National Assembly in 2016 as a proportional representative.

"Mom’s food tastes bad."

As the president of the elementary school mothers’ association, Im often heard complaints from children about school meals. They said the food was tasteless. "The rice from the An-gye Plain around Uiseong is so delicious, and the plums that over-ripen at home are so sweet... Listening to the children made me want to solve the school meal problem." At that time, the election system changed, and she found a reason to enter politics.

"There was a very capable woman in our area then. We managed to nominate her as a proportional representative candidate, but proportional candidates don’t campaign under their own names; they campaign for the party. From my perspective, I wanted to get her elected. I couldn’t let her campaign alone, so I registered as a district candidate. Also, since we were talking about children’s meals, I wanted to try to solve that problem."

The proportional candidate she supported lost, but Im was elected as a county council member in the Gyeongbuk Uiseong-gun A district in the 2006 local elections. She was re-elected in 2010. Although there have been Democratic Party members elected to basic councils in Gyeongbuk before, Im was the first to win re-election.

Im Mi-ae, Chairperson of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is posing and standing in front of the Andong Provincial Party Committee in Gyeongbuk. / Photo by Na Ju-seok

"Your Endurance Is Our Comfort" ? Words That Gave Strength

"If you add up all the tears shed during my legislative activities, it might not make a lake, but at least a spring. The hardest thing in politics is having your pride hurt. You have to put down your pride, but that’s not easy. For over ten years, whenever I got my hair done, I went to a beauty salon in Uiseong; even when buying a carton of milk, I shopped at Uiseong’s market. I have never left Uiseong, but when the election came, the reaction from the people I always saw was not what I expected. I felt the resistance was that strong."

However, there were people who supported her, giving her strength. After narrowly losing in the candidate unification process in the 6th local elections in 2014, she devoted herself to farming. Then a resident spoke to her.

"It must have been hard for you to endure (lonely) in the local council, but your endurance was a comfort to us."

Im recalled, "I thought people would say that council members enjoy privileges, but when they said that to me, tears poured out." After that, she changed her KakaoTalk profile to ‘Endurance is also courage’ for a while.

In the 2018 local elections, she ran for the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly and was elected. Local media in Gyeongbuk reported her victory, saying, "The election of a Democratic Party member to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly is the first in 23 years since former assembly member Ryu Sang-gi (Yeongyang) in the 1995 local elections, and Im is the first female Democratic Party provincial assembly member." While serving as a provincial assembly member, she considered running for Uiseong County governor when the party surprised her with a call. They wanted to strategically nominate her as the Gyeongbuk governor candidate for the 8th local elections.

The outcome of the gubernatorial election was predictable even before it began. It was a local election held right after a regime change, in Gyeongbuk, known as a stronghold of the ruling party, so she could only dream of a respectable defeat. The miracle allowed to Im was a 22.04% vote share.

"People say I got more votes than expected, but honestly, I felt a bit sorry. The results should have been a bit better. Even in defeat, there’s a big difference between 25% or 30% and 22%. The size of the hopeful message shown to people changes. In that sense, I feel really sorry. I wish I could have given a bigger message."

Im Mi-ae, Chairperson of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is posing and standing in front of the Andong Provincial Party Committee in Gyeongbuk. / Photo by Na Ju-seok

Recently, Im has been dedicating herself to electoral reform. She believes that although there are People Power Party supporters in Honam and Democratic Party supporters in Yeongnam, the winner-takes-all election system must be broken to gain even one more vote. She thinks this path will bring about competition between parties’ policies and platforms, leading to better political services. This is something she realized more desperately than anyone else while carrying the Democratic Party’s flag in Gyeongbuk.

"I believe there is still one more chance. I have always supported a large electoral district system. In this situation where everything is concentrated in the metropolitan area, the small electoral district system is meaningless. But if the discussion doesn’t go that way, I hope proportional representation is done by region. If the small electoral district system represents population, then regional proportional representation represents regional representation. I hope the ratio of district representatives elected by small districts to proportional seats is adjusted to at least 2:1."