Kim Dong-yeon (Korean김동연; born 28 January 1957) is a South Korean politician, who is currently the 36th governor of Gyeonggi Province since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the 4th Minister of Economy and Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from 2017 to 2018.[1]

Kim Dong-yeon
김동연
36th Governor of Gyeonggi Province
Assumed office
1 July 2022
Preceded byLee Jae-myung (2021)
Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea
In office
9 June 2017 – 10 December 2018
Prime MinisterLee Nak-yeon
Preceded byYoo Il-ho
Succeeded byHong Nam-ki
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office
9 June 2017 – 10 December 2018
Prime MinisterLee Nak-yeon
Preceded byYoo Il-ho
Succeeded byHong Nam-ki
Minister for Government Policy Coordination
In office
25 March 2013 – 22 July 2014
Prime MinisterChung Hong-won
Preceded byLim Jong-ryong
Succeeded byChoo Kyung-ho
Personal details
Born (1957-01-28) 28 January 1957 (age 67)
Eumseong, South Korea
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
New Wave (2021–2022)
Independent (until 2021)
Alma materKookjae University
Seoul National University
University of Michigan
Signature
Korean name
Hangul
김동연
Revised RomanizationGim Dongyeon
McCune–ReischauerKim Tongyŏn

Early life

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Kim was born on January 28, 1957, in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do.[2] After completion of high school, he worked as a banker at Seoul Trust Bank (which is now Hana Bank) while completing his undergraduate degree in law at the evening school of Kookjae University.[3]

He spent most of his time in government at Ministry of Economy and Finance and its preceding agencies where he began and ended his career in public service at.

In 1982 he passed the state exams for both legal affairs and administration and began working as a working-level administrator at its preceding agency. He took numerous economy and budgeting related roles in government ministries, Office of the President and presidential transition team.[4]

He was recruited by three consecutive presidents. He was Lee Myung-bak's second vice finance minister and Park Geun-hye's minister for government policy coordination. Before being promoted to Moon Jae-in's first finance minister, he was the 15th president of Ajou University for two years.[5]

Kim holds four degrees - a bachelor in law from Kookjae University, two master's in administration from Seoul National University and University of Michigan and a doctorate in administration from University of Michigan.

Political career

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In August 2021, Kim announced that he would run for the 2022 South Korean presidential election. He became a candidate as an independent initially and then formed his own Party, the New Wave.[2][6] Kim withdrew his presidential candidacy in March 2022 after reaching an agreement with the ruling Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung on policy coalitions and joint government operations.[7][8]

In June 2022, he was elected as the 36th governor of Gyeonggi Province during the 2022 South Korean local elections by a very narrow margin of 0.15%.[9]

Electoral history

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2022 Gyeonggi gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kim Dong-yeon 2,827,593 49.07
People Power Kim Eun-hye 2,818,680 48.91
Independent Kang Yong-suk 54,758 0.95
Justice Hwang Soon-sik 38,525 0.67
Progressive Song Young-ju 13,939 0.24
Basic Income Seo Tae-seong 9,314 0.16
Total votes 5,762,809 100.0
Democratic hold

Publications

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  • Kim, Dong-yeon (July 28, 2021). 대한민국 금기 깨기 [Breaking the Taboo in Korea] (in Korean). Sam & Parkers. ISBN 9791165343842.
  • ———————— (May 5, 2017). 있는 자리 흩트리기 (in Korean). Sam & Parkers. ISBN 9788965704607.

References

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Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Gyeonggi Province
2022–present
Incumbent