Kim Jong-min (politician)

Kim Jong-min (Korean김종민; Hanja金鍾民; born 12 May 1964) is a South Korean politician representing the constituency of Nonsan–Gyeryong–Geumsan in the National Assembly from 2016.

Kim Jong-min
김종민
Leader of the New Future Party
Assumed office
4 February 2024
Co-leader with Lee Nak-yon
Preceded byParty established
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
30 May 2024
Preceded byHong Seong-Kuk
ConstituencySejong A
In office
30 May 2016 – 29 May 2024
Preceded byLee In-je
Succeeded byHwang Myeong-seon
ConstituencyNonsan–Gyeryong–Geumsan
Vice Governor for Political Affairs of South Chungcheong Province
In office
5 July 2010 – 14 September 2011
GovernorAhn Hee-jung
Preceded byChae Hoon
Succeeded byKwon Hee-tae
Presidential Spokesperson
In office
30 June 2004 – 17 May 2005
PresidentRoh Moo-hyun
Preceded byYoon Tae-young
Succeeded byKim Man-soo
Personal details
Born (1964-05-12) 12 May 1964 (age 60)
Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea
Political partyDemocratic (before 2024)
New Future (since 2024)
Alma materSeoul National University

Before entering politics

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Kim studied Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University.[1] After graduating college, Kim worked as a political journalist for newspapers—daily Naeil (내일신문) and weekly Sisajournal (시사저널)—during which he met then-presidential hopeful Roh Moo-hyun.[2]

Early political career

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Kim first joined politics in 2003 when he started working as one of the administrators at Office of Senior Secretary for Public Affairs to the President Roh (홍보수석비서관실). He continued working for Roh until the end of Roh's term. In 2004 he was promoted to vice presidential spokesperson and a month later to the Roh's third presidential spokesperson becoming the youngest person to assume this post at the age of 40.[3] Kim was Roh's first spokesperson after Roh returned to the office following Constitutional Court's ruling which turned down his impeachment voted by the parliament.[2] In 2005 he was reshuffled to secretary for public affairs and served till the end of Roh's presidency in 2008. After serving at the Blue House for the entire Roh's presidency of five years, Kim joined in developing and running the online debate platform of Roh's supporters, "Democracy 2.0" which operated only for a short period due to Roh's suicide.[4]

He later joined Ahn Hee-jung, then-elected governor of South Chungcheong Province, whom he first met at university as his first deputy.[5] He resigned from the post for the 2012 general election.

National Assembly member

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In the 2016 general election, Kim defeated a six-term parliamentarian, a former presidential candidate with a nickname "phoenix" Lee In-je[6] who defeated Kim in the previous 2012 election. Since then he took multiple roles in his party such as vice chair of its Policy Planning Committee from 2015 to 2017 and deputy floor leader from 2018 to 2019.

In July 2020 he announced his campaign to become one of five elected members of his party's Supreme Council.[1] In August 2020 he was elected as a Supreme Council member for a fixed term of two years receiving the most votes from party members among 8 candidates.[7]

From September 2020 Kim chairs party's task force for reforming "power institutions" such as prosecution, police and intelligence agencies[8][9] and from October 2020 its committee to reform the party itself.[10]

Electoral history

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Election Year District Party Affiliation Votes Percentage of votes Results
19th National Assembly General Election 2012 Nonsan–Gyeryong–Geumsan Democratic United Party 37,701 39.90% Lost
20th National Assembly General Election 2016 Nonsan–Gyeryong–Geumsan Democratic Party 45,203 43.55% Won
21st National Assembly General Election 2020 Nonsan–Gyeryong–Geumsan Democratic Party 58,319 51.0% Won
22nd National Assembly General Election 2024 Sejong A New Future Party 65,599 56.93% Won

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "김종민의 출사표 "文 정부 성공, 정권 재창출"". 디트news24 (in Korean). 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  2. ^ a b "청와대가 선택한 '젊은 입' 김종민". Sisa Journal (in Korean). 2004-07-06. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. ^ "청와대대변인 김종민씨". 전북일보 인터넷신문 (in Korean). 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  4. ^ "[의원의 맛과 멋]①`노무현 주의자` 김종민이 생각하는 좋은 정치란". naon.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  5. ^ "김종민 정무부지사 내정자, 안희정 지사와 동지". 디트news24 (in Korean). 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  6. ^ "[20대 총선]불사조 이인제 꺾은 김종민은 누구?". mobile.newsis.com (in Korean). 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  7. ^ "[속보]민주당 최고위원, 김종민 염태영 노웅래 신동근 양향자". The Financial News (in Korean). 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  8. ^ 이, 치동 (2020-09-21). "(LEAD) Moon urges continued push for reform of prosecution, police, state spy agency". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  9. ^ "민주, 권력기관·정치개혁 TF 구성…"현안 신속 대응"". 매일경제 (in Korean). 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  10. ^ 김, 동호 (2020-10-14). "민주당 혁신위 구성…이낙연 "미래 백년정당 되겠다"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-10-14.