Kim Chong-in (, born 7 July 1940) is a South Korean economist and politician. He was the interim chairman of the

Minjoo Party of Korea The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two m ...

from January to August 2016 and a member-elect of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

on the party's proportional list since the April 2016 parliamentary election. He was previously a member of the Assembly from 1981 to 1988, 1992 to 1994, and 2004 to 2008, each time elected by party list. He served as Minister of Health and Social Affairs under President

Roh Tae-woo Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...

from 1989 to 1990. From May 2020 until April 2021, he was the leader of the main opposition People Power Party.

Early life

Before entering politics, Kim studied German language at the

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (abbreviated as HUFS; Korean: 한국외국어대학교) is a private research university based in Seoul, in South Korea. HUFS consistently ranks as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university ...

as an undergraduate, and obtained a doctorate in economics at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...

in Germany in 1972. His dissertation at Münster was titled "Possibilities and Limits of Social Policy in the Present Social–Economic Situation in the Republic of Korea". He was professor at

Sogang University Sogang University (SU, Hangul: 서강대학교 Hanja: 西江大學校, literally "West River University") is one of the most prestigious private research universities in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by the Wisconsin Province of ...

, and board chairman of

KB Kookmin Bank Kookmin Bank or KB Kookmin Bank () is among four of the largest banks ranked by asset value in South Korea, as of the end of March 2014. It is the largest among banks in Korea and the 60th largest in the world as of 2017. History The current KB ...

, the largest private bank of Korea.

Political career

Conservative parties until 2015

Kim spent his early political career in the

Democratic Justice Party The Democratic Justice Party (; DJP) was the ruling party of South Korea from 1981 to 1988. History Chun had become the country's de facto leader after leading a military coup in December 1979, and was elected president in his own right in ...

of Presidents

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

and

, and followed the party when it merged with two other conservative parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party in 1990. He remained in the party's successors, becoming an assemblyman for the

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

in 2004 and subsequently a campaign and economic advisor to President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

. He served as chairman of the

Saenuri Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

's Special Committee to Promote People's Happiness during Park's campaign, promoting economic democratization and the party's business-friendly image. He was later marginalized by Park, and separated from the president and her economic cabinet, for reasons which are in dispute. In January 2015, he criticized Park for "not being able to recognize a problem", and commented on his own plans that he had "lost trust in people": "I do not have much desire to talk".

Democratic Party (2016-2017)

After stepping down as Park's advisor, Kim subsequently joined the liberal opposition

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

as chairman of the Emergency Planning Commission. This followed the resignation of

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...

as party leader in January 2016. As party leader, Kim's role was to prepare for the upcoming legislative election and aimed to unify the party by diminishing the influence of entrenched factions. He targeted leading members of the pro–Roh Moo-hyun faction of the party, including

Lee Hae-chan Lee Hae-chan (born 10 July 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea from 2018 to 2020. He also served as Prime Minister of South Korea from 2004 to 2006. He served as Member of the National Ass ...

, whom he deselected from the party nomination process. Kim faced calls to resign over the process, but decided to stay on as leader, pledging to continue reforming the party. Despite losing most of the seats in its traditional stronghold of

Honam Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla and North Jeolla Provinces. The name "Jeonla-do" is used in the names of th ...

to the new People's Party, the party gained a favorable result in the elections under his leadership, defeating the ruling Saenuri Party and winning a plurality of seats in the Assembly. Kim consolidated his control over the Democratic Party with the favorable 2016 election result. A week after the election, he announced that the party would reorient from welfare advocacy to support for economic growth and corporate reform, and dropped the party's prior policy of opposition to for-profit hospitals. Kim left the Democratic Party following greater disagreement with Moon Jae-in in March 2017. In leaving the party, he also gave up his proportional representative seat in the National Assembly.

2017 South Korean presidential election

Kim announced his independent candidacy in the

2017 South Korean presidential election Early presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 May 2017 following the impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye. The elections were conducted in a single round, on a first-past-the-post basis, and had originally been scheduled for 2 ...

to oppose Moon Jae-in in April 2017 after leaving the Democratic Party. Kim dropped out a week later calling for a need of a coalition government. He then supported the minor centrist People's Party presidential candidate

Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior ...

in the presidential election, agreeing to lead Ahn's campaign panel that supports a "reformist" government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Chong-in 1940 births Living people Hankuk University of Foreign Studies alumni University of Münster alumni Sogang University faculty People from Gyeonggi Province People from Siheung Minjoo Party of Korea politicians Democratic Justice Party politicians Liberty Korea Party politicians South Korean economists South Korean Roman Catholics Members of the National Assembly (South Korea)