Identifying Intersectional Minorities in Legislative Processes: Insights from Local Council Proceedings in South Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper examines which ‘women’ are represented in South Korean local councils and to what extent ‘immigrant women’ and other intersectional minorities are included in this representation. While previous research suggests that politicians with specific attributes, such as foreign origin, tend to represent immigrants and ethnic minorities among women, it remains unclear whether and under what conditions politicians without such attributes engage in their representation. To address this gap, this study analyzes local council minutes from Seoul, Busan, and Daegu using quantitative text analysis. By identifying the themes of ‘women’-related statements made by council members and assessing the influence of legislators’ gender, party affiliation, and local contexts, this research highlights how representation is shaped by structural and institutional factors, including local industries and immigration policies. In doing so, this paper contributes to debates on the descriptive and substantive representation of women and advances methodologies in political and social science research utilizing Korean-language legislative proceedings.