Park Young-sun
Park Young-sun (Korean: 박영선; Hanja: 朴映宣; born 22 January 1960) is a South Korean politician currently serving as the Minister of SMEs and Startups since appointed by President Moon Jae-in in April 2019 and a four-term parliamentarian of Democratic Party. She is the first female leader of SME-specialised government entity since its creation in 1996.
Park Young-sun | |
---|---|
박영선 | |
Minister of SMEs and Startups | |
Assumed office 8 April 2019 | |
President | Moon Jae-in |
Prime Minister | Lee Nak-yeon |
Preceded by | Hong Jong-hak |
Chairman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy Interim | |
In office 4 August 2014 – 27 September 2014 | |
Preceded by | Kim Han-gil Ahn Cheol-soo |
Succeeded by | Moon Hee-sang (Interim) |
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 30 May 2008 – 29 May 2020 | |
Preceded by | Kim Han-gil |
Succeeded by | Yun Kun-young |
Constituency | Guro B (Seoul) |
In office 30 May 2004 – 29 May 2008 | |
Constituency | Proportional representation |
Personal details | |
Born | Changnyeong, South Korea | 22 January 1960
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 1 son |
Alma mater | Kyung Hee University Sogang University |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 박영선 |
---|---|
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Bak Yeongseon |
McCune–Reischauer | Pak Yŏngsŏn |
Background
Park was born in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsangnam province on January 22, 1960.[1] After attending Sudo Girl's High School, she completed B.S. Geography at Kyung Hee University and a master's degree in journalism from the Graduate School of Sogang University.[2]
Career
Park worked for MBC after completing her degree. She joined the television network in 1982 as a reporter. She became an anchor and the Chief Manager of the network's business news department.
Park entered politics in 2004 after she was appointed the spokesperson of the Uri Party.[3] She became a member of the 17th National Assembly in South Korea, having been elected as a proportional representative in the same year.[2] Her constituency is the second electoral section of Guro-gu or Guro Eul(을 乙), where there is an industrial complex that SMEs and startups are concentrated.
Park has 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] She joined election campaign supporting candidate Moon Jae-in in 2017 South Korean presidential election.
In March 2019, she was appointed the Minister of SMEs and Startups.[8] She was also the first South Korean minister to serve in the Stewardship Board at a Davos Forum Platform.[9]
References
- Chung, Min-uck (2011-09-26). "Park advocate of universal welfare". koreatimes. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- "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.
- Shin, Ji-hye (May 20, 2020). "'Startups, SMEs hold key to Korea's future'". Korea Herald. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- "'Chaebol reform is road to advanced nation'". koreatimes. 2016-05-30. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- "One Woman's Crusade For Samsung Family To Repay $2.2B IPO Windfall". www.fa-mag.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- "[Newsmaker] NPAD interim leader headed for choppy waters". The Korea Herald. August 4, 2014.
- "Rep. Park elected first female floor leader of major opposition party [date=8 May 2014". Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Lee, Kwon-hyung (November 29, 2019). "SMEs minister hopes for brisk exchanges between startups and ASEAN". Korea Herald. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- 유지호 (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.