Byeon Chang-heum (; born 14 August 1964) is a South Korean educator who served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

Korea Land and Housing Corporation Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) is a government-owned corporation which is responsible for the development of land in cities, and the maintenance and management of land and housing. Foundation Basis LH was built by law to form the Korea ...

from April 2019 to December 2020. On 4 December 2020, he was nominated the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, replacing the incumbent

Kim Hyun-mee Kim Hyun-mee (Korean: 김현미; born September 20, 1967), also spelled Kim Hyun-mi or Kim Hyeon-mi, is a South Korean team handball player. She competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal with the South Korean team,

Career

Early career

Following the graduation, Byeon worked as a lecturer at Chungbuk National University,

Kangnam University Kangnam University is a private university in Yongin, South Korea. Founded July 1, 1946 by Reverend Yi Ho-bin as the Choong-ang Theology Institute, the school initially met at a lecture hall in the local YMCA in Seoul, South Korea. The universit ...

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

and

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. Serving as the senior researcher at Seoul City Development Corporation (now Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation) from 1996 to 1999, he became the Professor of the

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

Department of

Sejong University Sejong University (SJU; ) is a private university located in Seoul, South Korea known for its standing in hospitality and tourism management, dancing, animation and rhythmic gymnastics. Founded as the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute, it was rename ...

in 2003. In 2014, he served as the Head of the Korea Centre for City and Environment Research. In November 2014, Byeon was appointed the CEO of the SH Corporation, under the then

Mayor of Seoul The Mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budget ...

Park Won-soon Park Won-soon ( ko, 박원순; March 26, 1956July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer. His term ended when he took his own life due to a sexual harassment scandal. He was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul, from 2011 un ...

. The appointment had gained public attentions, as he was the first scholar to hold the position. Under his tenure, the corporation changed its name to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation in 2016. Despite of his reform, he resigned in November 2017 due to blacklist controversy. His tenure as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

began on 29 April 2019. He backed and fulfilled the housing policies of the

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 ...

government. When he attended the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee 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 3 August 2020, he was asked by the

Icheon Icheon () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Together with Yeoju, Icheon is known as a center of South Korean ceramic manufacturing and is a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art. Other famous local products include peaches and rice. Loc ...

MP Song Seog-jun about (among

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

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 ...

and

) which government's real estate policy was the best. Byeon replied that Moon's policy is the best. On 4 December 2020, he was nominated the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, replacing the incumbent

. As he became a minister-nominee, he resigned as the CEO of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation on 14 December. Several netizens denounced his appointment as "similar" or "spicier" than the incumbent. On 12 March 2021, Byeon offered to tender his resignation to the President Moon Jae-in. He left the office on 16 April. His term was only 109 days, making him as the shortest-serving Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Controversies

On 18 December 2020, the office of Park Seong-min, a

People Power "People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...

MP, revealed that Byeon had already made a defamatory remark against share house residents while he was the CEO of the SH Corporation on 30 June 2016. The remark was "Those poor people should cook at their home, not buying outside foods. It's absolutely crazy."; where the "poor people" refers to "share house residents". A day before, Park's office also revealed that Byeon had already made another remark against a victim of Guui station incident; saying "It was just nothing. The victim had to be careful."{{cite news , date= 19 December 2020, title= 변창흠, SH사장 시절 "못사는 사람들, 미쳤다고 밥 사먹나", url= http://news.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=0015336011&code=61111111, access-date= 22 December 2020

Personal life and education

After the graduation from Neungin High School, Byeon attended

, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, a master's degree in

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

and a doctorate in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

. In 1992, he married to Park Jong-hyo, a professor at

Konkuk University Konkuk University () is a South Korean private university founded in 1946. The university was founded based on three virtues: sincerity, fidelity, and righteousness. Konkuk University gives comprehensive education in agricultural and life scien ...

. Both has 2 daughters — Byeon Ye-seul and Byeon Hyun-jung. He is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

References

1964 births Living people South Korean educators Government ministers of South Korea