[Politics X-File] Married Members of the National Assembly? Both My Mom and Dad Are Assembly Members

⑬ Choi Gyuseong and Lee Gyeongsuk Couple, Both Serving as Members of the National Assembly
Park Cheoreon’s Constituency Wife Hyun Gyeongja’s Election Also a Hot Topic
‘Democrat’ Kim Geuntae and Wife In Jaegeun Case Too

Editor's Note‘Political X-Files’ is a series project that delivers ‘unprecedented stories’ recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

How would a spouse feel if their partner wore the National Assembly badge, known as the ‘golden badge’? Although they themselves are not representatives of the people, the gaze of others is inevitably different.

If your spouse is a member of the National Assembly, wouldn't the attention be more focused on them than on where they go? An environment where the so-called ‘shoulder pads’ inevitably become more pronounced... The same goes for children whose mother or father is a member of the National Assembly. Even if the children try not to be conscious of it, they are always labeled as the child of Assemblyman ○○○.

Then, if both mother and father are members of the National Assembly, wouldn't the mental burden be even greater?

Several couples have become members of the National Assembly in Korean politics. In most cases, the spouse served as a member of the National Assembly at different times, but there have also been cases where both served simultaneously.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This is the case of former Open Democratic Party members Choi Gyu-seong and Lee Kyung-sook, who entered the National Assembly through the 17th general election in 2004. Former Assemblyman Choi Gyu-seong was a veteran lawmaker who secured a three-term seat representing Gimje-Wanju in Jeonbuk.

In 2004, he ran as a candidate for the Open Democratic Party and was elected with 51.0% of the vote. He was one of the leading politicians representing Jeonbuk and served as the president of the Korea Rural Community Corporation.

On April 15, 2004, when her husband was elected as a member of the National Assembly, his wife was also elected at the same time. Former Assemblywoman Lee Kyung-sook ran as an Open Democratic Party proportional representation candidate in the 17th general election and became a member of the Assembly. With extensive experience in civic and women's movements, she had already attracted attention before being elected, serving as co-chairperson of the Open Democratic Party.

With both husband and wife elected simultaneously, scenes of the couple sitting together in the plenary session of the 17th National Assembly could be seen. The husband continued his legislative activities by winning the 18th general election in the Gimje-Wanju district of Jeonbuk.

However, the wife ran as a candidate for the United Democratic Party in the Yeongdeungpo-gu Eul district of Seoul but lost with 39.7% of the vote. Their life as a couple of National Assembly members ended with the 17th National Assembly.

National Assembly Building stock photo / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Although not exactly contemporaneous, there is another couple who served as members of the National Assembly around a similar period. They are former Assemblyman Park Cheol-eon, known as the crown prince of the 6th Republic, and his wife, former Assemblywoman Hyun Kyung-ja.

Former Assemblyman Park Cheol-eon was a veteran lawmaker elected in the Daegu Suseong-gu Gap district in the 13th, 14th, and 15th general elections. He was recognized as a key figure, serving as Minister of Political Affairs during the Roh Tae-woo administration.

His wife, former Assemblywoman Hyun Kyung-ja, was elected in the same Daegu Suseong-gu Gap district, which was her husband's constituency. When Park Cheol-eon lost his seat in the 14th National Assembly, his wife ran in the subsequent by-election in that district and won, thereby retaining the Daegu Suseong-gu Gap seat. Although not serving simultaneously, both share the commonality of being members of the 14th National Assembly.

There are more cases where a spouse ran in and won the other's constituency. A representative example is the late former Assemblyman Kim Geun-tae and Assemblywoman In Jae-geun. Kim Geun-tae was known as the godfather of the pro-democracy movement.

Called the eternal democrat, he was elected three consecutive times in the Dobong-gu Gap district of Seoul in 1996, 2000, and 2004. He suffered defeat in the 18th general election in 2008, when the United Democratic Party faced a crushing loss. Although the party's candidates were defeated one after another in Seoul, the most shocking scene was the defeat of politician Kim Geun-tae.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

United Democratic Party supporters who thought, “Still, Assemblyman Kim Geun-tae will be elected,” were deeply shocked by the election results. Politician Kim Geun-tae tried to re-enter the National Assembly in the 19th general election in 2012 but passed away at the age of 64 on December 30, 2011, before fulfilling his wish.

Then his wife, Assemblywoman In Jae-geun, ran in the Dobong-gu Gap district of Seoul and was elected in the 2012 general election. She was re-elected consecutively in the 2016 and 2020 general elections, achieving three consecutive terms.

Assemblywoman In Jae-geun was a well-known figure in the pro-democracy movement even before entering politics, jointly receiving the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award with her husband in 1987.

Will another couple of National Assembly members emerge in the 22nd general election scheduled for April 10 next year? While it may be difficult to see a simultaneous couple like former Assemblymen Choi Gyu-seong and Lee Kyung-sook, there is a possibility that a spouse could become a member of the National Assembly by inheriting either the husband's or wife's constituency.