Feminists and People Power Party Alliance, 'Half Concerned, Half Hopeful'

Shin Ji-ye, Joins People Power Party's New Era Preparation Committee
"Different from Party's Core Principles," Internal Opposition
Experts: "Progressive Figures Joining Conservative Parties Is Not Unusual"
"Likely Considered Limitations of Minority Party Politics and Policy Implementation"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party (right), is taking a commemorative photo with Kim Han-gil, the chairman (left), and Shin Ji-ye, a recruited figure and former representative of the Korean Women's Political Network, at the welcoming ceremony for recruited personnel held on the 20th at the New Era Preparation Committee chairman's office in the central party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Shin Ji-ye, former representative of the Korean Women’s Political Network known as a feminist, has been recruited as the senior vice chairman of the New Era Preparation Committee, a direct organization under Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, sparking ongoing debates inside and outside the political circle.

The women’s community showed signs of confusion at Shin’s joining the People Power Party, with some reacting by calling her a "turncoat," "traitor," and "opportunist." There were also quite a few openly critical opinions within the party. This was because Shin’s feminism and anti-nuclear power stances had no overlap with the party’s positions. On the other hand, some expect that her joining might bring attention to issues related to women in their 20s and 30s, which have not been actively discussed in politics so far.

◆ People Power Party recruits '90s-born feminist,' faces internal backlash

The People Power Party announced Shin’s recruitment on the 20th. At the welcoming ceremony, candidate Yoon said, "We need to remove prejudices and broadly look into the demands and expectations of the people. To do that, we must bring in people who have been active in various fields so that we can understand what the public really thinks and what problems need to be solved," explaining the reason for her recruitment.

Born in 1990 and 31 years old this year, Shin began her political activities in 2004 as the representative of the Korean Youth Association. She ran as a Green Party candidate in the 2016 National Assembly election and the 2018 Seoul mayoral election. Last year, she ran for the National Assembly and this April, she ran as an independent candidate in the Seoul mayoral by-election. Shin actively introduced herself as a feminist while working in politics and is known as a representative female politician voicing the concerns of women in their 20s and 30s.

However, her joining the party, which had previously expressed opposing views, immediately raised concerns within the party. Party leader Lee Jun-seok appeared on MBC’s 'News Outside' and expressed discomfort, saying, "If she joined to continue saying what she has been saying, she will face strong criticism." Lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung publicly opposed on Facebook, stating, "There are many differences from our party’s core principles."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Kyung-min, deputy spokesperson of the Seoul City Party, sparked controversy by saying about Shin, "She can be used a few times and then discarded." On the People Power Party’s member bulletin board and male-dominated online communities, there were reactions such as "Is the party’s identity shaking?" and "Are 20s and 30s men being ignored just to get the votes of 20s and 30s women?"

Progressive parties and women’s groups expressed feelings of betrayal. Kim Chang-in, spokesperson for Sim Sang-jung’s Justice Party presidential campaign, released a statement saying, "Shin Ji-ye’s bizarre defection, who had advocated feminist politics and green politics, is shocking."

◆ Shin Ji-ye: "Joining People Power Party? If I can’t be active in the third zone, only a weak voice remains"

However, there are also fresh perspectives on Shin’s move to the People Power Party. There is hope that she can convey the realistic problems and concerns of women in their 20s and 30s, who have felt virtually ignored by the two major parties, and that this could bring about positive change. Office worker A (27) said, "The ruling party doesn’t even glance at the ‘I-dae-nyeo’ (women in their 20s), so the fact that they pretend to care caught attention," adding, "I will watch how things go from now on."

There appear to be two main reasons why Shin decided to join the People Power Party. The first is distrust toward the ruling party politicians’ repeated sexual misconduct scandals and hypocritical behavior. In an interview with CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,' Shin said, "The sexual violence cases involving huge political figures like Park Won-soon, Oh Keo-don, and Ahn Hee-jung, and the secondary victimization of the victims afterward made me think these political forces cannot even protect victims and may even lead the perpetrators." She added, "Candidate Yoon said he would guarantee women’s safety."

The second reason is the strong desire for regime change, which is an extension of the first. Shin said in the same interview, "When regime change happened, I thought women could be guaranteed more safety. When I considered the best choice for that, I had no choice but to pick one candidate within the two-party system. I was someone who called for breaking the two-party structure and moving to a multi-party system, but the election date is fixed. As time gets closer, if the third zone is not formed, only a weak voice will remain." It seems she decided to focus her efforts where realistic change can be made rather than continuing to raise her voice in the third zone at least until this election.

Election poster of Shin Ji-ye, Chief Vice Chairperson of the People Power Party's New Era Preparation Committee, who ran as the Green Party candidate for Seoul mayor in the 2018 local elections. Photo by the National Election Commission

◆ Can People Power Party capture the floating votes of women in their 20s and 30s?

Despite these explanations, reactions to Shin’s joining the People Power Party have been mostly cynical. On social media and online communities, netizens responded, "If you think Shin Ji-ye joining People Power Party means gaining support from women in their 20s and 30s, that’s a big misconception," and "Women in their 20s and 30s are not that simple." Ultimately, the key will be what policies, visions, and sincere attitudes the People Power Party shows to persuade the floating voters among women in their 20s and 30s during the remaining 70 days until the presidential election.

Experts say it is not unusual for a progressive figure to join a conservative party. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University’s Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "It’s not the first time a progressive figure has gone to a conservative party. Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who was with the Democratic Party, is currently active in the People Power Party’s campaign team." He pointed out, "Politics cannot follow ideology alone. If you want to pursue ideology, you can do civic activism."

He continued, "You can be an influential politician in a minor party, but there are practical limits to implementing policies. It seems Shin considered that and decided to join the People Power Party," adding, "I think it’s not a bad decision for a figure known as progressive to join the People Power Party. It can give the impression that the party is not too far to the right and positively affect the appeal to centrist voters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.