Kang Chang-hee

Kang Chang-hee
Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea
In office 2 July 2012 – 29 May 2014
President	Park Geun-hye
Preceded by	Chung Eui-hwa (acting)
Succeeded by	Chung Eui-hwa
Personal details
Born	3 August 1946[1] Chungcheong, South Korea
Citizenship	South Korean
Political party	Unaffiliated (formerly Saenuri Party)

Kang Chang-hee (Korean: 강창희) is the Speaker of the 19th National Assembly of South Korea, succeeding acting Speaker Chung Eui-hwa on 2 July 2012, for a two-year term.^[2] Kang was a member of the Saenuri Party (New Frontier Party, formerly the Grand National Party), which holds the largest number of seats in the 2012–2016 National Assembly.^[3] He was selected as the party candidate for Speaker on 31 May 2012, which effectively guaranteed he would become Speaker.^[4] He was officially elected when the National Assembly convened on 2 July 2012, gaining 195 of 283 votes.^[2][5] On assuming the office of Speaker, Kang was legally required, by the National Assembly Act, to become an unaffiliated member of the National Assembly.^[2][6]

Career

Kang was a member of the South Korean military, before becoming a politician in 1980.^[2] He has served six non-consecutive terms as a member of the National Assembly (in the 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 19th National Assemblies),^[1] and is the first Speaker from the Chungcheong provinces.^[7][8] Previously he has held a number of posts including vice-president of the Grand National Party (November 2001 to March 2002) and as a Minister of Science and Technology (March 1998 to March 1999).^[9]

On the 2013 South Korean Constitution Day (17 July), Kang proposed an "advisory council for constitutional amendment", which was formed on 24 January 2014, with 15 members including academics, journalists and former judicial and government officials.^[10] On 28 November 2013, the Saenuri Party controversially elected their preferred candidate to head the Board of Audit and Inspection, after Kang refused to allow speeches by members of the opposition Democratic Party, although the opposition felt that Kang was not permitted to do so by law.^[11]

As part of his official duties, he has met a number of foreign dignitaries when they visited South Korea, and visited a number of countries. On 16 October 2012, Kang visited the University of Southern California, to look at the East Asian Library's collection of maps of the body of water between Korea and Japan, known then as the Sea of Korea and now known as the Sea of Japan.^[12] On 2 April 2013, Kang addressed the Congress of Peru during an official visit to Lima.^[13] Kang met the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen during the latters visit to South Korea from 11–13 April 2013.^[14] On 9 October 2013, Kang visited Turkey to meet the Turkish President, Abdullah Gül, and spoke about the Turkish military contribution to the Korean War.^[15] On 17 October 2013 he met Rwandan Minister Louise Mushikiwabo after she attended a cyberspace conference in Seoul.^[16] Kang travelled to Beijing on 4 December 2013, to meet Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China,^[17][18] followed by a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 6 December, with both meetings focussing on China–South Korea relations and cooperation.^[19][20]

References

1. "Member profile". National Assembly of South Korea. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
2. Kim Eun-jung (2 July 2012). "National Assembly elects new parliamentary speaker". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
3. "Last elections". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
4. "Rep. Kang Chang-hee of the ruling Saenuri Party raises his ...". The Korea Times. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
5. Bae Joo-yon (2 July 2012). "Nat'l Assembly Opens, Kang Chang-hee Elected Speaker". KBS World Radio. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
6. "Leadership". National Assembly of South Korea. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
7. Lee Eun-joo (2 June 2012). "Saenuri elects new Assembly speaker". Korean JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
8. "Nat'l Assembly gets 1st speaker from Chungcheong area". The Dong-a Ilbo. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
9. "Biography". National Assembly of South Korea. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
10. "Constitutional amendment council launched". National Assembly of South Korea. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014. Click on the press release with this title
11. Lee Joo-hee (28 November 2013). "Rival parties head for showdown". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
12. "Korean National Assembly Speaker Visits USC Libraries". University of Southern California. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
13. "Kang Chang-hee in Peru". The Economic Times (Times Internet Limited). 2 April 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
14. "Visit by the NATO Secretary General to the Republic of Korea". NATO. 11–13 April 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
15. "President Gül Receives South Korean Parliament Speaker". Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
16. "Minister Mushikiwabo attends Cyberspace 2013 in South Korea". Rwanda High Commission in Uganda. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
17. Liu Weibing (4 December 2013). "China's top legislator, ROK assembly speaker hold talks". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
18. "Speaker on official visit to China". National Assembly of South Korea. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014. Click on the press release with this title
19. Zhang Qian,、Huang Jin, ed. (7 December 2013). "Chinese president meets ROK speaker". People's Daily Online (National Assembly of South Korea). Retrieved 25 January 2014.
20. "Speaker talks with Chinese President". National Assembly of South Korea. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014. Click on the press release with this title