[Profile] Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly... 'Five-term Representative of the Capital Area, Economic Expert, Rationalist'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] On the 4th, the National Assembly held a plenary session and elected Kim Jin-pyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, as the Speaker of the National Assembly. Kim, a former economic bureaucrat, is serving his fifth term and is regarded as both an economic expert and a rational figure.

Born in 1947 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Kim is the oldest among the 21st National Assembly members. He graduated from Kyungbock High School and Seoul National University Law School. After passing the 13th Administrative Examination in 1974, he began his public service career at the National Tax Service and later served as Director-General of the Taxation Office and Vice Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Economy's Financial Policy Office.

During former President Kim Dae-jung's administration, he served as Chief of Policy Planning at the Presidential Secretariat and Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Under former President Roh Moo-hyun, he held the positions of Minister of Finance and Economy and Minister of Education and Human Resources Development, serving twice as Deputy Prime Minister. He has been a member of the National Assembly for five consecutive terms since the 17th National Assembly. In 2017, during the Moon Jae-in administration, he chaired the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, which functioned as a transition team.

He also yielded to Park Byeong-seok (the Speaker during the first half of the 21st National Assembly) when the Speaker was elected in the first half of the 21st National Assembly.

Kim has faced criticism from hardliners within the Democratic Party due to his rational stance. However, this position has earned him recognition as a leading 'rational faction' within the party.

With the Democratic Party holding the Speaker position in a National Assembly dominated by the opposition, Kim now faces the challenges of political balance and parliamentary reform. As a prominent economic expert, it is expected that he will take the lead in reforms such as those involving the Budget and Accounts Committee.

▲ Born 1947 in Suwon ▲ Kyungbock High School, Seoul National University Law School ▲ 13th Administrative Examination ▲ Vice Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economy ▲ Chief of Policy Planning, Presidential Secretariat ▲ Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination ▲ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy ▲ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Human Resources Development ▲ Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party ▲ Floor Leader of the Democratic Party ▲ Chair of the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee ▲ Member of the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st National Assembly