Kim Moon-soo (politician)

Kim Moon-Soo 김문수 金文洙
Kim Moon-soo with Capt. Kenneth J. Norton, commanding officer of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in 2008
Governor of Gyeonggi Province
In office 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2014
Preceded by	Sohn Hak-kyu
Succeeded by	Nam Kyung Pil
Member of the National Assembly
In office 30 May 1996 – 24 April 2006
Preceded by	Park Kyu-sik
Succeeded by	Cha Myeong-jin
Constituency	Sosa (Bucheon)
Personal details
Born	August 27, 1951 Yeongcheon, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Political party	Saenuri
Alma mater	Seoul National University
Religion	Catholic

Kim Moon-soo
Hangul	김문수
Hanja	金文洙
Revised Romanization	Gim Mun-su
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Munsu

Kim Moon-soo (Hangul: 김문수, August 27, 1951) is a Korean Saenuri Party politician and the 32nd Governor of Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. A former labor activist, he began his career in politics when he participated in the foundation of the People’s Party in 1990. He was elected to the 15th National Assembly at Sosa-gu, Bucheon, as a candidate for the Grand National Party. After continuing to serve as a member of the assembly in the 16th and the 17th National Assemblies, he became the 4th Governor of Gyeonggi Province to be elected by popular vote in 2006.

Biography

Early years

Born in 1951, Kim Moon-Soo is the third son in his family, and has three brothers and three sisters. After graduating from Yeongcheon Elementary School in Gyeongsangbuk-do, he moved to Daegu Metropolitan City without his family, where he attended Gyeongbuk Middle School and Gyeongbuk High School.

In 1970, Kim Moon-Soo entered the Department of Business Administration, in the College of Business at Seoul National University, but was expelled in 1971 allegedly for participating in the October 15 nationwide student protests. In 1974, he was expelled from university again due to his involvement in the National Democratic Youth and Students Union case.

He reentered the Department of Business Administration at Seoul National University in 1994, and two years later graduated from university, 25 years after his initial acceptance in 1970.

Labor movement days

In 1974, he served as the assistant cloth cutter at a fabric plant in Cheonggyecheon, acquiring national engineer’s licenses for environmental management and safety management in 1977. He was elected as the Dorco Labor Union Leader of the Federation of Korean Metal Workers Trade Unions in 1978. He was arrested and tortured by the dictatorial government in 1980, but his indictment was suspended so that he could serve for Dorco again.

Kim served as the secretary of the Jun Tae-Il Memorial Society in 1985, and was arrested again for participating in the Incheon May 3 Protest for Constitutional Amendment for Direct Election System in 1986 when he served as the a member of the direction committee for Seoul Confederation of Labor Movement. He was tortured and was imprisoned for two and a half years.

Political career

In 1990, Kim Moon-Soo participated in the foundation of the People’s Party, and served as chair of the Labor Relations Committee. That same year, he ran in Korea’s 14th general election as candidate No. 3 for the People’s Party, but was defeated. After joining the Democratic Liberal Party in 1994, he ran for the 15th general election as a candidate for New Korea Party in 1996, and was elected. (Sosa-gu, Bucheon)

Following his election, Kim Moon-Soo served as a member of the legislature, focusing on labor and environmental issues, as well as on transportation in the Seoul metropolitan area and childcare. Re-elected to the 16th and the 17th National Assemblies, Kim served for three consecutive terms as a member of the National Assembly. He served as the deputy floor leader for the Grand National Party.

After retiring from the National Assembly in 2006 to run for local government, Kim was elected Governor of Gyeonggi Province, taking office as the 4th Governor elected by public vote in July 2006.

In April 2012, Kim Moon-Soo declared his presidential candidacy in the primary election of the Saenuri Party.^[1] In announcing his candidacy, Kim asserted that the nomination of Park Geun-hye should not be viewed as axiomatic, despite a decade of preparation for the campaign on her part.^[1]

Profile

Academic Background

• Graduated from Yeongcheon Elementary School, Gyeongsangbuk-do
• Graduated from Gyeongbuk Middle School
• Graduated from Gyeongbuk High School
• Graduated from College of Business, Seoul National University as a major in business administration / Ph. D.

Career Information(Source: Cyworld Mini Homepage)

• 1996~2004 Member of the 15th and 16th National Assembly
  • Member of Environment and Labor Committee, Executive Committee, Budget and Account Committee, and Special Committee on
    Economic Reform and Unemployment
  • Deputy floor leader, deputy secretary general, and chair of the Planning Committee of the Grand National Party,
• 2004~2006 Member of the 17th National Assembly
• 2006~present Governor of Gyeonggi Province

Awards and citations

• 2009. 4.16 Selected by Korea Manifesto as the No. 1 among the leaders of the 4th local governments elected by popular vote in the category of fulfillment of public pledge
• 2007. 9. 5 Won the 5th Forbes Korea Excellence Award in the category of Public Innovations (Forbes Korea & Korean Society for Quality Management)
• 2007. 8. 6 Selected by Korea Manifesto as No. 1 among the leaders of the 4th local governments elected by popular vote in the category of fulfillment of public pledges

Publications

• Statements of Appeal of Ten Prisoners of Conscience in the 1980s (1987)
• Report on Workers’ Rights in 1992 (1993)
• Innovation Tasks 20 (co-author, 1994)
• A Necktie Still Does Not Suit Me (1995)
• National Assemblymen Are the Servants of the Citizens
• Mr. President, Why Don’t You Take the Subway of Hell? (1996)
• My Way, My Dream (2006)
• I Dream of Freedom in Gyeonggi Province, a Prison of Regulations (2008)

Footnotes

1. Lee Tae-hoon, "Governor Declares Presidential Bid," Korea Times, April 22, 2012.

External links

• Official website
• Kim Moon-soo on Cyworld
• Kim Moon-soo on Facebook
• Kim Moon-soo on Twitter