[22nd Rising Star]⑦ Im Miae, the Catfish of TK Democratic Party Tackling the Local Extinction Issue

Daegu Gyeongbuk Region Democratic Party Grassroots Politicians
Reviving Local Politics Through Local Election Law Revisions
Promise to Strengthen Response to Local Extinction by Changing Preliminary Feasibility Study System

Editor's NoteThere are 131 first-term lawmakers entering the 22nd National Assembly. This is the lowest number since the 16th National Assembly in 2000, which had 112. The public expects these lawmakers to lead politics of dialogue and compromise amid a situation where the ruling party is in the minority. We introduce the elected officials who are expected to bring a fresh breeze to the 22nd National Assembly. ① Park Ji-hye ② Go Dong-jin ③ Kwak Sang-eon ④ Park Soo-min ⑤ Park Chung-kwon ⑥ Seo Myung-ok ⑦ Lim Mi-ae

Lim Mi-ae, elected from the Democratic Party of Korea (58), entered the National Assembly through proportional representation but considers the entire Daegu·Gyeongbuk (TK) region as her constituency. She aims to play a kind of ‘catalyst’ role in this area, which was like a barren land for the Democratic Party, to bring change to the one-party dominant political system in the region. She said she would strive to promote political change in TK while also addressing the issue of local extinction.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 12th, she cited electoral system reform to revitalize local areas as her top priority in legislative activities. Lim said, "The crisis of local extinction ultimately arises from the disappearance of local autonomy," and added, "The disappearance of local autonomy happened because local politics disappeared." She emphasized, "To revive local autonomy, the restoration of local politics is necessary, and for that, the local election system must be reformed."

Im Mi-ae, elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Lim said, "In local areas, the number of basic councils operating at the minimum unit is increasing as the population decreases," and added, "Currently, the proportional representation for basic local governments should be changed to a mixed-member system or the proportional seats should be converted to district seats to increase three-member or more constituencies." She also stated, "They are trying to split four-member constituencies into two-member ones, but this should be fundamentally prevented." She argued that the political structure, where one party dominates in regions like Yeongnam and Honam, must be broken and the principle of vote equality should be secured by changing the local political structure. She is also considering reforming the electoral system for National Assembly members beyond local elections. She said, "Regardless of party, it is necessary to unite local voices against the one-pole dominance of the metropolitan area," and "It is necessary to elevate the issue of local extinction to a national priority."

Regarding the issue of local extinction, she is also preparing to amend the National Finance Act. She said, "There is a system that allows consideration of basic principles or perspectives when drafting budgets, and a representative example is the gender-responsive budgeting system," adding, "A system should be established to also address how much national finances have contributed to balanced national development." She plans to promote the introduction of systems such as the national balanced budget awareness system. Furthermore, she said, "Regarding preliminary feasibility studies conducted for projects over 50 billion won, we will look for ways to change budgets from the perspective of balanced development as well as economic feasibility."

She is also considering solutions to worsening local transportation problems caused by population decline. Lim introduced, "To go from Uiseong to Yeongyang or Yeongdeok in Gyeongbuk, it is faster to go through Daegu or even via Seoul." She mentioned that the government's rush to promote rural settlement by youth has not been very successful, partly due to transportation issues. Lim said, "It is difficult to take a bus unless it is market day," and "Young people who decide to move to rural areas need conditions where they can meet each other, but such conditions do not exist," adding, "Local transportation issues need to be addressed from a new perspective."

Lim plans to staff most of her aides with people from TK. Except for the necessary personnel for legislative activities, she intends to provide opportunities to talented individuals from TK. Lim said, "There are many good young people, and I want to give them opportunities."

Im Mi-ae, elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Born in Yeongju, Gyeongbuk, Lim lived in Seoul until she graduated from university. She has lived considering herself a Seoulite. During the June Democratic Uprising in 1987, she was active on the streets as the president of Ewha Womans University’s student council. However, she gave up city life and the path of a social activist and chose to move to the countryside. In her husband’s hometown (former lawmaker Kim Hyun-kwon), whom she met during student activism, she lived as a farmer, loading apples onto trucks to sell and raising cattle. She became involved in politics due to the Roh Moo-hyun wave that swept even Uiseong, Gyeongbuk. Her husband entered the election campaign promoting Roh Moo-hyun’s spirit, but in the harsh reality of TK where it was difficult to even find a speech assistant, she became a speech assistant and got on the campaign vehicle.

After entering the basic council, she created a small miracle by becoming the first to be re-elected as a Democratic Party member in the Gyeongbuk region. Living as a grassroots politician, she was told, "Your endurance is our comfort." In 2018, she became a member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly for the first time in 23 years as a Democratic Party member. She considered running for Uiseong County governor in the next local election, but the Democratic Party strategically nominated her as the candidate for Gyeongbuk governor. Although everyone expected her to lose, she performed well with 22.04% of the vote but was defeated. Afterwards, she served as the head of the Democratic Party’s Gyeongbuk provincial committee and worked to change the political structure by demanding electoral law reform. Instead of introducing a regional proportional representation system, the Democratic Party insisted on mixed-member proportional representation and designated TK, the party’s weakest region, as a strategic area in this general election, deciding to nominate local politicians for proportional representation. Two candidates were elected, but only Lim was included in the proportional representation winning zone.