Choi Gyung-hwan

Choi Gyung-hwan (Korean: 최경환, born 28 July 1959) is a South Korean activist and politician. He is the Member of the National Assembly for Gwangju North 2nd constituency since 2016 and the President of the New Alternatives since 2020. Prior to these careers, he was the Presidential Secretary and the last aide for the ex-President of the Republic Kim Dae-jung.

For the former Deputy Prime Minister, see Choi Kyoung-hwan.
In this Korean name, the family name is Choi.
Choi Gyung-hwan
최경환
President of the New Alternatives
In office
12 January 2020 – 24 February 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byParty dissolved
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
30 May 2016
Preceded byLim Nae-hyun
ConstituencyGwangju North 2nd
Personal details
Born (1959-07-28) 28 July 1959
Jangseong, South Jeolla, South Korea
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Political partyNew Alternatives
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Unionist Party (2011-2013)
Democratic Party (2013-2014)
New Politics Alliance for Democracy (2014-2015)
People's Party (2016-2018)
Party for Democracy and Peace (2018-2019)
Alma materSungkyunkwan University
OccupationActivist, politician

Career

During the 1980s, Choi was once jailed for being involved in Hakrim incident and Youth Union for Pro-democracy Movement (aka Minchŏngryŏn) incident, in which the former was acquitted in 2015.[1] He later served as the Presidential Secretary for Kim Dae-jung, as well as his aide.[2] He is widely known as his last aide by serving the position till the death of the ex-President in 2009.[2][3] Following the death of Kim, Choi has been working at Kim Dae-jung Peace Centre.[4]

Choi was brought into the Democratic Unionist Party and launched his bid for Gwangju North 2nd constituency in 2012, but lost to Lim Nae-hyun during the preselection.[5] In 2016, he joined the People's Party (PP)[4] and was elected as the MP.[2] He proposed a bill named Special Act on the Investigation of Facts that later passed the parliamentary votes.[2][6]

Choi once helped the party's ex-President Ahn Cheol-soo, ⁣ref name="ahn">"안철수 캠프 총괄본부장에 최경환 영입…수석대변인에 김경록". 16 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2020.</ref> but due to the disagreement of Ahn's decision to merge with the Bareun Party, he quitted and joined the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) in 2018.[7] In August, he launched his bid for the party's presidency but came behind of Chung Dong-young and Yu Sung-yup, made him as one of the Vice Presidents.[2]

In 2019, Choi and the party's dissidents left PDP and formed the New Alternatives.[8] On 12 January 2020, he was elected as the newly-formed party's President.[9]

Trivia

Choi Gyung-hwan has the same name with the former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyoung-hwan, though both are not related.[10][11] Nevertheless, the name brought confusions, ⁣ref name="same"/>[11] especially after the latter was involved in controversies. As an example, on 9 December 2016, when the former Deputy Prime Minister Choi was the only MP who abstained from the impeachment vote against the President Park Geun-hye, the former Presidential Secretary Choi was the one who received many protest messages.[10][11]

Books
  • The Leadership of Kim Dae-jung (15 December 2010)[3][12]

Election results

General elections
YearConstituencyPolitical partyVotes (%)Remarks
2016Gwangju North 2ndPP68,641 (55.29%)Won

References
  1. "최경환 공보실장, '학림사건'무죄 이어 민사소송에서 승소". 29 November 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. "[프로필] 최경환 평화당 최고위원… DJ '마지막 비서관'". 5 August 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  3. "DJ 마지막 비서관 최경환씨 '김대중 리더십' 펴내". 16 December 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  4. "최경환 김대중평화센터 공보실장, 안철수 신당행". 13 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  5. "최경환 후보 "경선결과에 승복"". 13 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. "안철수 캠프 총괄본부장에 최경환 영입…수석대변인에 김경록". 16 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. "국민의당서 15명 집단 탈당…민주평화당으로". 5 February 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  8. "평화당 탈당 10명 중 1명만 찬성…선거제 패스트트랙 '오리무중'". 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  9. "'호남권 제3지대 구축' 모색 대안신당 공식 창당…최경환 당대표 선출". 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  10. "'투표불참' 친박 최경환 때문에 문자폭탄 맞은 野최경환". 9 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. "최경환, 동명이인이 부른 해프닝? 신상발언까지". 10 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  12. "김대중 리더십". 15 December 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
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