The first female head of a metropolitan government in constitutional history has been elected. Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea won the June 3 local elections to become governor of Gyeonggi.
Choo won this election with 3,760,080 votes, securing victory with 55.04%. Her rival, Yang Hyang-ja of the People Power Party, received 2,689,879 votes, or 39.37%. Yang conceded after receiving the ballot count results at about 11 p.m. on the 3rd.
Choo graduated from Hanyang University's law school in 1981 and passed the 24th bar exam in 1982. After completing the 14th class at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 1985, Choo was appointed a judge at the Chuncheon District Court. While serving on the bench, Choo became known for an anecdote of refusing to issue an unjust warrant by putting legal principles first even under the Chun Doo-hwan military regime.
Choo entered politics in 1995. Then serving as a judge at the Gwangju High Court, Choo joined the National Congress for New Politics at the invitation of Kim Dae-jung, its leader. Starting political activities as the party's deputy spokesperson, Choo ran in the 15th general election in 1996 for Seoul's Gwangjin B district and won.
The nickname "Chudarc" also began to follow around this time. During the 15th presidential election in 1997, Choo led a campaign team to Choo's hometown of Daegu to stump for Kim Dae-jung. In an era of strong regionalism, Choo made a strong impression by appealing for support for the Democratic Party candidate in the heart of conservative-leaning Daegu.
Since then, Choo served as a lawmaker for Gwangjin B in the 16th, 18th, 19th, and 20th National Assemblies. In 2016, Choo was elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and later served as Minister of Justice in the Moon Jae-in administration. With strong drive and a clear political course, Choo has been regarded as one of the party's leading hard-line senior politicians.
In this local election, Choo maintained a lead from the polling stage through the actual count. Having become the first female governor of Gyeonggi, Korea's largest metropolitan government, attention is focusing on Choo's future political moves. Because the end of the term overlaps with the 2030 presidential race, Choo may also be mentioned as a potential contender for the next presidency.