Oh Yeong-hwan (Korean오영환; February 10, 1988) is a South Korean firefighter, essayist, and politician. He first served as a military firefighter before being hired as a civilian firefighter in Seoul in 2010. There he worked at the Gwangjin Fire Station, the 119 Special Rescue Team, the Seongbuk Fire Station, and the National 119 Rescue Headquarters. After retiring from the fire service in 2019, he was named the 5th Democratic Party Recruitment Personnel in 2020.[1]

Oh Yeong-hwan
오영환
Oh in 2015
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
30 May 2020
Preceded byMoon Hee-sang
ConstituencyGyeonggi Uijeongbu A
Personal details
Born (1988-02-10) 10 February 1988 (age 36)
Dongducheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Political partyNew Future Party
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (until 2024)
SpouseKim Ja-in
OccupationFirefighter, politician
ReligionRoman Catholic
(Christian name: Florian)

Early life and education

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Born in Busan in 1988, he and his sister were born a father who was a lieutenant in the South Korean reserve army. After being discharged, his father experienced economic hardship, which put Oh's family into a difficult financial state before he had entered elementary school.

While attending high school, he came to idolize firefighters as heroes. He joined the Korea Disaster Prevention Engineering Co. Ltd., a fire prevention hardware company, installing and repairing fire-prevention fixtures such as induction lamps and detectors.

While in the military, He worked under the Haeundae Beach 119 Marine Rescue Team and Haeundae Fire Station, Busan Fire Headquarters. In December 2015, he wrote an essay called A Firefighter's Prayer which tells the story of his experiences as a firefighter and his hopes for a better future.[2]

Meeting novelist Kim Hoon

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Oh with Kim Hoon, 2013

Since high school, Oh had been a fan of novelist Kim Hoon's writing. Oh Yeong-hwan introduced himself to Kim at a lecture in 2013, and the two began correspondence. Oh sent Kim an essay; A Dream of an Auxiliary Firefighter, which tells the story of his childhood and military service as a firefighter. Kim later told Oh that his essay served as inspiration for his short story "Hands", published in the winter edition of Munhakdongne.

Career

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  • Rescue team, Haeundae Fire Station, Busan Metropolitan City
  • Rescuer, Gwangjin Fire Station, Seoul
  • Dobongsan Mountain Rescue Team, 119 Special Rescue Team, Seoul
  • Paramedics in Seongbuk Fire Station, Seoul
  • Fire Department Rescue Team

Personal life

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He is married to Kim Ja-in, a professional rock climber.[3]

Electoral history

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Election Year District Party Affiliation Votes Percentage of votes Results
21st National Assembly General Election 2020 Gyeonggi Uijeongbu A Democratic Party 54,806 53.0% Won

References

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  1. ^ ""관행" 논란 오영환 "지금 기준으로 그때를 판단하는 건 문제"". JoongAng Ilbo. 8 January 2020.
    - "與 영입인재 5호는 전직 소방관…"열악한 처우 고치겠다"". Chosun Ilbo. 2020-01-07.
  2. ^ "與 영입인재 5호는 '암벽 여제' 김자인 남편 31세 소방관 오영환". DongA Ilbo. 2020-01-07.
  3. ^ "與 영입5호 소방관은 유명 몸짱커플···암벽여제 김자인이 부인" (in Korean). 7 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.