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MANILA, Philippines -- A Filipina who has acquired Korean citizenship has been making waves in South Korea for being the first foreign-born citizen to run for a seat in the country?s National Assembly, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
In his report to the home office, Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Luis T. Cruz said Judith A. Hernandez, a former resident of Cavite, is the first candidate of non-Korean lineage to run for the Philippine equivalent of a congressional seat.
Hernandez, who became a citizen when she married her late Korean husband 15 years ago, is running under the ?Republic of Korea Party,? a new party organized by former presidential candidate Kook-hyun Moon, for the general elections on April 9.
Campaigning on a platform of improving the welfare of migrant workers, foreign spouses, and their children, Hernandez began her political career as an involved citizen in her local community in Seongnam, a city less than an hour from Seoul, shortly after she lived there.
Hernandez met with the Philippine ambassador on March 26. She told Cruz she thinks Korean society is opening up and her entry into politics signals possible changes in the perception and a more accepting view of foreigners.
?The [candidacy] of Hernandez has so far enjoyed warm response. Her ranking in the party recently climbed from 8th to 7th out of more than 20 hopefuls,? the DFA said in a statement.
According to the DFA, there are two ways of securing a position in South Korea?s unicameral legislature: representatives can be directly elected from single-member districts, and the rest of the approximately 300 slots are filled by the parties following a formula that allocates membership proportionally based on the number of seats won in the election.
Hernandez?s candidacy falls under the second category. To win, her party needs to obtain a fair percentage of the votes so she will be included under proportional representation.
Before venturing into politics, Hernandez established a ?multicultural kindergarten? that addresses the needs of racially mixed children, including emotional support. Children who have completed their kindergarten study for free and get additional training in the native language of their non-Korean parents, including Filipino. Because of the program?s success, Hernandez has received several requests for expanding the school?s operations.
The mother of two teenagers, Hernandez was initially hesitant when approached by the party to become part of its roster of candidates. ?Parang hindi ko yata kaya [I was not sure I could handle it],? she said.
But after meeting with other church members and migrants, Hernandez discarded all second thoughts.
?Kailangan talaga ng representation. Naalala ko yung naranasan ko -- may maganda, may mapait. Kaya kahit wala akong alam [sa pulitika,]. Lahat naman mapapag-aralan. [There really is a need for representation. I remember my experiences, both beautiful and bitter. So I decided to run even if I had no experience in politics. After all, everything can be learned],? she said.
