[Profile] Kim Younghun, Minister of Employment Nominee... Former KCTU Chair and Current Train Engineer

In Charge of Major Labor Pledges Including the Yellow Envelope Act
"I Will Strive for a Korea Where Labor Is Respected"

Kim Younghun, a current railway engineer and former chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, has been nominated as the first Minister of Employment and Labor under the Lee Jaemyung administration.

Kim Younghun, nominee for Minister of Employment and Labor. Ministry of Employment and Labor

Kim was born in 1968 in Busan. After graduating from Masan Jungang High School and Dong-A University, he joined the Korea National Railroad in 1992 and worked as a train engineer. He began his labor activism as the head of the Busan branch of the railway union in 2000, and later served as the union's national chairperson in 2004. He went on to become the inaugural chairperson of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union and served as chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions from 2010 to 2012.

In 2017, he joined the Justice Party and served as co-chair of the election campaign committee for Sim Sangjung, then the party's presidential candidate. He is currently a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Ahead of the 2022 20th presidential election, he became co-chair of the labor committee for Lee Jaemyung's presidential campaign, establishing a connection with President Lee.

During the 21st presidential election, Kim served as head of the labor division of the Democratic Party's central campaign committee and was responsible for major labor pledges, including the Yellow Envelope Act (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act). He currently works as a train engineer at Korea Railroad Corporation and serves as a public interest commissioner at the Busan Regional Labor Relations Commission.

In a statement released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the afternoon of June 23, Kim described himself as a "dreaming engineer" and said, "A country where everyone can work happily! This is the dream of a boy worker president and the dream of all working citizens," adding, "I will do my best to create a true Republic of Korea where labor is respected."

▲ Busan ▲ Masan Jungang High School ▲ Department of Animal Science, Dong-A University ▲ Graduate School of NGO Studies, Sungkonghoe University (Politics and Policy) ▲ Chairperson of the Railway Union ▲ Inaugural Chairperson of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union ▲ Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions ▲ Head of the Labor Division, Justice Party ▲ 21st National Assembly candidate, Justice Party ▲ 22nd National Assembly candidate, Democratic Party of Korea