Chung Sye-kyun

Chung Sye-kyun
정세균
Chung Sye-kyun in 2010
Speaker of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 2016
Preceded by	Chung Eui-hwa
Member of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 May 2012
Preceded by	Park Jin
Constituency	Seoul Jongno
In office 30 May 1996 – 29 May 2012
Constituency	Jinan–Muju–Jangsu (–Imsil from 2004)
Chairman of the Democratic Party
In office 7 July 2008 – 2 August 2010
Preceded by	Sohn Hak-kyu and Park Sang-chun
Succeeded by	Park Jie-won (acting)
Chairman of the Uri Party
In office 14 February 2007 – 20 August 2007
Preceded by	Kim Geun-tae
Succeeded by	Party dissolved
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy
In office 10 February 2006 – 1 March 2007
President	Roh Moo-hyun
Preceded by	Lee Hee-bum
Succeeded by	Kim Young-joo
Personal details
Born	(1950-11-05) 5 November 1950 Jinan, North Jeolla, South Korea
Citizenship	South Korean
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Minjoo Party of Korea (Until 2016)
Alma mater	Korea University New York University Pepperdine University Kyung Hee University
Religion	Protestantism

Chung Sye-kyun (Hangul: 정세균; Hanja: 丁世均; born 5 November 1950) is a South Korean politician currently serving as a member of the National Assembly for Jongno, Seoul, in the Minjoo Party of Korea (Together Democratic Party).

He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 2008 and 2010, and chairman of its predecessor the Uri Party twice, first on an interim basis from October 2005 to January 2006 and then fully from February 2007 until the Uri Party's dissolution in August that year. On June 9th, 2016, he was elected the Speaker of the National Assembly, whose term is 2 years. As he had become the Speaker, following the law that does not permit Speaker handle a membership of a certain party, he defected from The Minjoo Party of Korea. His membership of the party will be restored automatically, when his term as Speaker expires on May 29th, 2018.

Early life and education

Chung was born on 5 November 1950 in the village of Donghyang in Jinan, North Jeolla. From 1966 to 1969 he studied at Jeonju Shinheung High School in Jeonju, where he was a student reporter and served as chairman of the student council.^[1] As an undergraduate he studied law at Korea University, and became chairman of the student union there, graduating in 1974.^[1] He was nominated as an alternate for a U.S. Asia-Pacific student leadership project in that year.^[1] He received a masters degree from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University in 1983, an MBA from Pepperdine University in 1993, and a doctorate from Kyung Hee University in 2000.^[2]

Political career

Chung entered the National Assembly in the 1996 parliamentary election as a member of the main liberal opposition National Congress for New Politics, representing his home county of Jinan, North Jeolla, in the Jinan–Muju–Jangsu constituency.

President Roh Moo-hyun appointed Chung Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy at the start of 2006.^[3] As minister, Chung received U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman in Seoul,^[4] and participated in the Five-Party Energy Ministerial held in Beijing on 16 December 2006, promoting energy efficiency and the development of clean energy technologies.^[5]

Democratic Party leader (2008–10)

At the Democratic Party national convention on 6 July 2008, Chung was elected leader of the party, defeating Choo Mi-ae, his closest competitor.^[6]

In July 2009, Chung went on a six-day hunger strike to protest a series of media laws passed by the ruling Grand National Party. He resigned his assembly seat on July 24 alongside Chun Jung-bae, labeling the bills invalid and stating that passing legislation through "illegal voting and violence cannot be justified".^[7][8] Some 70 Democratic lawmakers also handed letters of resignation to Chung,^[7] and Chung announced that the party would begin a hundred-day campaign in the streets against the laws.^[9] Chung and his fellow party members returned to the assembly on August 27 after a month of protests.^[10]

Chung faced calls to resign as party leader after the Democratic Party underperformed in the 2010 by-elections, losing five of the eight seats being contested. He accepted the demands and resigned alongside the rest of the party leadership on August 2, taking responsibility for the defeat.^[11]

Later legislative career (2010–present)

In the 2012 parliamentary election, Chung moved from Jeolla to Seoul to contest Jongno, an important constituency encompassing the Dongdaemun and the presidential residence at the Blue House.^[12] He defeated his Saenuri Party competitor Hong Sa-duk, a six-term assemblyman and leading supporter of Park Geun-hye.^[12] Remaining in Jongno as a member of the Minjoo Party of Korea, four years later in the 2016 elections Chung successfully fended off a challenge from another Saenuri heavyweight, former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon, confounding opinion polls from before the vote, which had suggested Oh would win.^[13] Prior to the 2016 election, Chung had criticized the Minjoo leadership for failing to nominate enough women and minority candidates.^[14]

References