Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper explores the under-researched topic of women’s representation in local politics in Asia. Specifically, we investigate the kinds of opportunities and challenges regarding the issue of quotas, using the case of municipal council elections in Korea. Strongly enforced quotas in the proportional representation tier of the mixed electoral system have indeed worked favorably for women’s representation in local elections since the adoption of the quota law. Yet, we also note two distinct factors that challenge quotas at the local level in the country. First, party leaders initially agree to the idea of quotas to gain public recognition, but may lack commitment and show resistance when it comes to their actual implementation. Further, the general public consensus that favors reforms in order to bar party involvement in local politics as a way to achieve grassroots democracy, may place quotas at risk, as current laws require mandatory quota implementation in the parties’ candidate lists. We end our paper by highlighting the importance of grassroots democracy and that the key to achieve this goal is not only to guarantee transparency in the candidate nomination process, but also to ensure that parties commit to quota implementation.
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