By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party (GNP) said that she is prepared to fight the dilemma she faces as a conservative female candidate.
In a round-table interview with five professors in Seoul Saturday, Park, 55, a former GNP chairwoman, underlined that women leaders in other countries have brought prosperity to their economies. The Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, arranged the interview to mark the 53rd anniversary of its founding.
Professor Kim Joo-han of Yonsei University said the source of Park’s dilemma is that a majority of Park’s supporters are conservatives, while gender activists who are advocating a female president are liberals.
The unique circumstance puts the female contender in a tricky situation under which she is discouraged from highlighting her gender in the campaign, Kim said.
Park replied that the emergence of a woman president will help break women stereotypes.
She pointed out that countries having experienced female political leaders saw a sharp growth in gross domestic product after they took power.
``One of the political legacies of women presidents is that they have made the countries more transparent than before they took office,’’ she said.
Citing recent polls, the professor said Park enjoys considerable popularity among women voters.
Her unusually high approval rating among women goes against conventional wisdom indicating women voters tend not to cast votes for females running for public office.
``The wisdom turned out not to be true as far as presidential hopeful Park is concerned,’’ said Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a close aide to Park.
Polls showed women are one of her stronghold groups, along with conservative voters.
Panel attendees advised Park not to trust polls too much.
``It is true that polls showed Park’s popularity is higher among women voters than other groups. But our one-on-one interviews found women are still unsure if they are prepared to see a female president,’’ Kim said.
Another panelist agreed with Kim.
Prof. Lee Nae-young of Korea University said Park had low popularity among older women in their 50s in polls.
These conservative elderly citizens are still questioning if a woman president can manage the nation as effectively as a man.