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South Korean politician
This article is about South Korean politician and former minister. For South Korean football referee, see
Kim Young-joo
.
Kim Young-joo
(
Korean
:
金榮珠
;
Hanja
:
金榮珠
; born 27 July 1955) is a South Korean politician and former basketball player previously served as President
Moon Jae-in
's first
Minister of Employment and Labor
from 2017 to 2018. She is the first woman to lead the Labour Ministry since its foundation in 1981 and its preceding agency in 1948.
[1]
She was a basketball player for Seoul Trust Bank (now absorbed into
Hana Bank
).
[1]
She then worked at the Bank where she faced gender discrimination which led her to join its trade union. She later joined its leadership board and eventually became the deputy chair of the Korea Financial Industry Union and the first woman to assume this post.
[2]
In 1999 she first entered politics when she was recruited by
Kim Dae-jung
.
[3]
She has consistently took senior roles in her party and its succeeding parties such as its secretary-general and one of elected members of its Supreme Council.
[4]
Minister of Employment and Labor (2017 - 2018)
[
edit
]
She was nominated and appointed as President
Moon Jae-in
's first Minister of Employment and Labor. She was replaced after facing opposition parties and the media's strong critics of the "decrease in weekly working hours and increase in minimum wage" policy, which she was responsible for as labour minister and was one of the main socio-economic campaign promises of Moon, throughout her time as Minister.
[5]
Kim completed her tertiary education in her 40s - an undergraduate degree in Korean language and literature from
Korea National Open University
and a master's degree in economics from
Sogang University
.
Resignation of the DPK to join the PPP
[
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]
She will resign from the
Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)
to join the
People’s Power Party (PPP)
; on February 19, 2024; a few months before the
legislatives elections in South Korea
; bringing the vice-presidency of the
National Assembly
to 2 members of the same party instead of one for each.
[6]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]