Kim Gi-hyeon

Kim Gi-hyeon was born in Sanha-ri, Gangdong-myeon, Ulju, South Gyeongsang (now Gangdong-dong, North District, Ulsan) in 1959.[1][2] He is the 4th of 6 children of Kim Byung-geuk, the former Member of the South Gyeongsang Legislative Assembly from 1960 to 1961.[2]

He attended to Busan East High School before studying law at Seoul National University.[3][4] After qualifying for the bar in 1983, he worked in various non-governmental organisations i.e. Director of YMCA in Ulsan.[3]

He was appointed the deputy spokesperson of the Grand National Party (GNP) in 2003.[3] In 2004, he ran for South District 2nd constituency and was elected.[3][4] He was re-elected in 2008 and 2012.[3][4] On 12 April 2014, he contested Saenuri preselection for Ulsan mayorship and defeated Kang Ghil-boo.[5] He resigned his parliamentary membership on 5 May in order to register his candidacy.[6] On 4 June, he received 65.42% and defeated the Justice candidate Jo Seung-soo.[7]

Following the election, Kim had showed his intention to run for the 2017 election,[8][9] comparing an example of Bill Clinton, the former Governor of Arkansas who was elected the President of the United States.[1] Following the political scandal in 2016, he was expected to leave his party,[9] but confirmed to remain.[10]

In 2018, Kim was again nominated the Ulsan Mayor candidate for the 2018 local elections.[11] Initially, he led on some polls[12] due to his high popularity. Nevertheless, he then came behind to the Democratic candidate Song Cheol-ho.[13] On 13 June, he finally lost to the Democratic candidate.[14]

On 29 January 2020, Kim launched his bid for the 2020 election.[15] He contested UFP preselection for South District 2nd constituency and defeated Park Maeng-woo.[16]

On 30 April 2021, Kim was elected the new parliamentary leader of the People Power Party (PPP), defeating Kim Tae-heum, Kweon Seong-dong and Yu Eui-dong.[17] He also served as the acting party President until Lee Jun-seok was elected the new president on 11 June. He resigned as the parliamentary leader on 3 January 2022,[18] but returned to the position 3 days later.[19] On 29 March, he made his resignation without coming back to the position, in order to refurbish the party leadership.[20]

His political position is described as centrist within the context of South Korean politics.[1] While as an MP, he was a member of South Korean centrist groups within the Grand National Party (GNP).[1] He is a pro-Lee Myung-bak.[21][1] He is critical of the welfare system.[22]

He married Lee Sun-ae and has a son and a daughter.[3]