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Park Young-sun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Korean name, the family name is Park.
Park Young-sun
박영선
2nd Minister of SMEs and Startups
In office
8 April 2019 – 20 January 2021
PresidentMoon Jae-in
Prime MinisterLee Nak-yeon
Chung Sye-kyun
Preceded byHong Jong-hak
Succeeded byKwon Chil-seung
Chairwoman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy
Interim
In office
4 August 2014 – 27 September 2014
Preceded byKim Han-gil
Ahn Cheol-soo
Succeeded byMoon Hee-sang (Interim)
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 2008 – 29 May 2020
Preceded byKim Han-gil
Succeeded byYoun Kun-young
ConstituencyGuro B (Seoul)
In office
30 May 2004 – 29 May 2008
ConstituencyProportional representation
Personal details
Born (1960-01-22) 22 January 1960 (age 64)
Changnyeong, South Korea
Political partyDemocratic
Children1 son
Alma materKyung Hee University
Sogang University
Signature
Korean name
Hangul
박영선
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBak Yeongseon
McCune–ReischauerPak Yŏngsŏn

Park Young-sun (Korean: 박영선; Hanja: 朴映宣; born 22 January 1960) is a South Korean journalist-turned politician previously served as the second Minister of SMEs and Startups under President Moon Jae-in from April 2019 to 2021[1] and the first woman to lead SME-specialised government entity since its creation in 1996. Park is also a four-term parliamentarian of Democratic Party.

Early career

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After finishing her undergraduate studies, Park began her career in journalism at MBC. She first joined the organisation as an announcer but was shortly transferred to its newsroom. From early 1980s to the early 2000s, Park hosted various television news programmes apart from few years when she was stationed in Los Angeles as its correspondent. From 2003 Park led its Economy News Department before leaving the company in 2004.

Parliamentarian

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As a parliamentarian Park holds two titles of being the first woman - to lead the main opposition party as its floor leader[1] and to chair the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly where all bills are reviewed before being introduced to the floor. Park is most known to the public as a parliamentarian for her work on reforming the judiciary system in the country, promoting its "fair economy" and uncovering misdemeanors of Lee Myung-bak administration.

Park first entered politics in 2004 for the general election. She was recruited by Chung Dong-young who was the leader of Uri Party and a fellow ex-MBC reporter. She was elected through proportional representation for which she was on number 9 on her party's list.[2] In the following elections, Park successfully ran for Seoul's Guro B constituency where many SMEs and startups reside.[3]

Park served as a chair of the 19th National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and of the party's Special Committee on chaebol reform.[4] She was one of the vocal critics of South Korea's biggest chaebol, Samsung Group, and was particularly noted for her position on a controversial SDS transaction and the profits accumulated from a 1999 deal ruled by the courts as illegal.[5] She played a leading role in passing bills related to economic democratization while serving as a chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in 2013.

From May to October 2014, she served as the floor leader of New Politics Alliance for Democracy .[6] She is the first female politician who was elected a floor leader of a major opposition party in Korea.[7] After Ahn Hee-jung lost party primary to then-candidate Moon Jae-in, she then joined Moon's second presidential campaign in 2017 South Korean presidential election.

In 2011 Park earned the party nomination for Seoul Mayor emptied by Oh Se-hoon but later withdrew her candidacy after their agreed poll found Park Won-soon, then independent candidate, more fit to win the election and defeat Na Kyung-won. In 2018 Park ran for the same post again but lost to Park Won-soon in her party's primary.

Cabinet minister

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In March 2019, she was appointed the Minister of SMEs and Startups.[8] Poll in December 2020 shows that over 70% of mid-to-low ranking officer at her Ministry surveyed would like to continue to work with Park as she is poised to run for Seoul Mayor by-election in 2021.[9]

She was also the first South Korean minister to serve in the Stewardship Board at a Davos Forum Platform.[10]

2021 Seoul mayoral election

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Main article: 2021 South Korean by-elections

In January 2021, after a week after resigning from the SME minister, Park announced her candidacy for Seoul Mayor in the upcoming 2021 by-elections.[11] Her former colleague at Moon's administration, former ministers Park Yang-woo, Cho Myung-rae, Jeong Kyeong-doo and Kang Kyung-wha, joined her campaign as advisors.[12][13]

On 1 March 2021, Park earned party nomination for Seoul Mayor receiving nearly 70% of the votes cast, defeating the 4-term MP Woo Sang-ho.[14] This makes Park the third woman the democratic party has nominated for Seoul Mayor post after the former Justice Minister Kang Kum-sil and the former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook. Park was the front-runner to run against Oh Se-hoon from the main opposition party or Ahn Cheol-soo a former Seoul mayor candidate and a former presidential hopeful in the April by-election.[15]

On 7 March, Park was confirmed as the unity candidate of the Democratic Party and the Transition Korea, defeating Cho Jung-hun.[16]

On the polls conducted on 7 April, Park lost to her opponent Oh Se-hoon, who won in a landslide victory.[17]

Education and Academia

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Park holds two degrees - a bachelor in geography from Kyung Hee University and a master's in journalism from Sogang University.[3] She also taught journalism in practice classes as an adjunct professor at her first alma mater from 2000 to 2002.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b 최, 경애 (2019-03-08). "(profile) Journalist-turned-politician nominated SMEs minister". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  2. ^ Shin, Ji-hye (May 20, 2020). "'Startups, SMEs hold key to Korea's future'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Woman Power: Rep. Park Young-sun appointed to head the Ministry of SMEs and Startups". KoreaTech Today - Korea's Leading Tech and Startup Media Platform. 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  4. ^ "'Chaebol reform is road to advanced nation'". The Korea Times. 2016-05-30. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  5. ^ "One Woman's Crusade For Samsung Family To Repay $2.2B IPO Windfall". www.fa-mag.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  6. ^ "[Newsmaker] NPAD interim leader headed for choppy waters". The Korea Herald. August 4, 2014.
  7. ^ "Rep. Park elected first female floor leader of major opposition party [date=8 May 2014". Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  8. ^ Lee, Kwon-hyung (November 29, 2019). "SMEs minister hopes for brisk exchanges between startups and ASEAN". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "중기부 공무원에 박영선 장관은... 71%가 "함께 일하고 픈 장관"". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  10. ^ 유, 지호 (2020-01-12). "Startups Minister Park Young-sun joins Stewardship Board for Davos Forum's body on manufacturing". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  11. ^ "박영선 "봄날 같은 시장" 출마선언 …'21분 콤팩트 도시' 구상 발표". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  12. ^ 이, 학수 (2021-02-12). "박영선, '국무회의 동료' 정경두·조명래·박양우 영입". MBC News (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  13. ^ "박영선 캠프 '文정부 장관 드림팀'…최장수 강경화도 합류". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  14. ^ "[속보]박영선, 민주당 서울시장 후보 확정···이변은 없었다". Kyunghyang Shinmun. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  15. ^ 박, 보람 (2021-03-04). "(LEAD) Ex-Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon wins main opposition's ticket for Seoul mayoral election". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  16. ^ "[종합] 박영선, 범여권 단일화 경선서 조정훈에 승리…김진애와 최종 협상". 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  17. ^ "[재보선] 민주당 '참패' 결과에 무거운 침묵...10분만에 꺼진 유튜브 개표 방송". 7 April 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  18. ^ "박영선 앵커, 경희대 겸임교수로". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
[edit]
National Assembly of the Republic of Korea
Preceded by Member of the National Assembly
from Guro B
2008–2020 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy
2014 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of SMEs and Startups
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
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