As South Korea gets ready to vote, women don't like the choices

Seoul, South Korea: Young South Korean women are often dismissed by men as apolitical, but they were prominent in the movement to impeach former President Yoon Suk Yeol, whom they accused of encouraging contempt and even hatred for them. They were among the first to take to the streets to condemn ​Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law in December​, enlivening large rallies with K-pop ​songs and glow sticks.

​But as South Korea prepares to elect Yoon's replacement June 3, many women say their priorities -- making the country safer and fairer for them -- are taking a back seat, and not for the first time​.

They endure some of the worst gender-based discrimination in the developed world, including lower pay and underrepresentation in management and politics, as well as rampant online sexual abuse that the law has done little to stop. But addressing such issues has become one of South Korea's most politically delicate subjects.

With the economy in a slump and jobs scarce, many young men consider themselves victims of reverse discrimination and bristle at any hint of a feminist agenda in government​. Yoon and his right-wing People Power Party leverage​d such sentiments to win the young male vote, and the presidency, in 2022. During the campaign, he said there was no structural discrimination against women in South Korea. ​

Lee Jae-myung, who lost that election to Yoon by a razor-thin margin, has a substantial lead in the polls this time. But though he has recognised the "leading role" that young women played in Yoon's ouster, Lee and his left-wing Democratic Party are being careful not to provoke male voters with messages that could be seen as feminist.​

As a result, neither Lee nor his conservative main rival, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, is saying much about women's issues​. Some women have concluded that nothing will change, regardless of who wins.

"We ​only have poor options in this election," said Park Jia, who leads a gender equality education center run by the Seoul Women's Association. "Sure, many women will vote for Lee Jae-myung -- not because they expect him to be a great leader for women, but because they are desperate to keep the other side, the conservatives, from power and stop the regression."

On average, South Korean women are paid 31% less than men, the widest gap in the developed world. They hold less than one-fifth of legislative seats, just three of the government's 29 top positions and​ 14.6% of senior corporate management roles (the average among wealthy nations is 33.8%). All six presidential candidates are men.

The country's only female president, conservative Park Geun-hye, was impeached in 2016. Many women who joined the rallies that precipitated her ouster said they wanted to drive out a corrupt leader, but they also hoped for a president who would do more to protect them from violent crime and online misogyny. Moon Jae-in, who was elected to replace Park, promised to be a "feminist president."

But ​he did not live up to that moniker. An anti-feminist backlash, part of a​ global trend, ​kicked in, driven largely by conservative Christian churches and young men. "Feminist" is now such a forbidden word that some women are afraid to use it in online profiles. Some are even reluctant to take women's studies classes, fearing that they will be targeted for abuse.

As part of his bid for young men's votes ​in 2022, Yoon​ promised to abolish the ministry of gender equality​. He did not follow through, but during his presidency, the national gender equality index, which the ministry has compiled since 2010, fell for the first time.​

When Yoon declared martial law, women were ready to strike back.

"For us, it was very personal," said ​Jang Hyun-ji, 28​, a digital comics artist. "We joined the rallies against him not only because his martial law undermined our democracy, but also because he became president by encouraging hatred and discrimination against women."

Women in their 20s were the most highly represented group in the rallies calling for Yoon's ouster, while men of that age were largely "silent" and "cynical," Hanna Kim, a political scientist at Chinju National University of Education, said in a study published by the East Asia Institute. Young women channeled their K-pop fandom into political activism, supplanting the refrains of hit songs with slogans like "Out, Out, Yoon Suk Yeol Out!"

"His impeachment was a victory for women, proof that women have become a leading force in society," said Park Min-ju, 27, a rally emcee who interspersed protest music with K-pop.

After Yoon was driven out -- the National Assembly impeached him in December, and a court formally removed him last month -- women demanded their dividend. Rights groups called on the new government to fill half of its decision-making positions with women. They also wanted more government support for child care, since women are often forced to leave work to care for their children.

But for the major presidential candidates, such concerns have been sidelined by the need to chase the elusive, and sharply divided, youth vote. Lee's popularity is lowest among men in their 20s and Kim's among women in their 20s, according to surveys. But there are also more swing voters among young adults than any other demographic.

Lee has been careful not to say anything that could galvanize anti-feminist emotions. Some of his campaign promises are aimed at helping women, like tougher punishments for dating violence and digital sex crimes, as well as police hotlines for women who own small businesses like shops and restaurants. Lee has also said he would require corporations to make gender-based disparities public, including pay gaps.

But Lee has been silent about some of the top priorities among women's groups, such as anti-discrimination​ legislation ​and expanding the definition of rape to include sex without consent​ (currently, the law requires violence or explicit coercion).

"​His strategy ​is to ignore the gender equality agenda, because he sees it as a stumbling block​ against his election," the Korea Women's Political Network, a feminist civic group, said in a statement.

Lee has denied such accusations. He has acknowledged that women face structural discrimination, and he has vowed to create more jobs, saying it would ease the economic stress that fuels gender conflict among young South Koreans.

​If young female voters are less than satisfied with Lee, many see Kim as a worse choice.

Kim​ says he will seek "gender equality in military service" by letting more women join the armed forces. He wants young men to get workplace benefits after they finish their mandatory military service. To boost South Korea's low birth rate, Kim has promised tax breaks and more affordable​ child care and housing for young people who marry and have children.

But women have bristled at appeals from the government to have children, given the difficulty of pursuing both motherhood and a career. Kim once addressed the birth rate issue by saying that South Korean women would rather take care of a dog than have a baby. He has also been criticized for recruiting a campaign organizer with a reputation for being anti-feminist.

Many women say there is no one in the race who clearly deserves their support.

"Women like me will never vote for the candidate of the People Power Party," said Jeong Eun-byeol, a college student. "That makes the Democratic Party treat us like fish already caught."

Still, some are willing to give Lee the benefit of the doubt.

"​We don't have any option other than to trust and vote for him​," said Kim Do-won, 28. ​ "If he is not doing ​well after his election, we can protest again."