Current railway engineer Kim Young-hoon, former Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), has been appointed as the first Minister of Employment and Labor in the Lee Jae-myung government. He is known to have been driving a train at the moment the candidate list was announced, belonging to the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) Busan locomotive crew office.
Candidate Kim reportedly operated the ITX Saemaeul train No. 1008, which departed from Busan heading to Seoul, from 1:14 p.m. on the 23rd. Since he was operating the train at 1:30 p.m. when the candidate nomination briefing was held, he had his mobile phone off and received the news late. Candidate Kim is scheduled to operate a train returning to Busan after 7 p.m.
Around 5 p.m. that day, Candidate Kim posted on his Facebook, saying, “I will do my best for a true Korea where labor is respected.” He noted, “I am scheduled to return to Busan in an hour,” adding, “I will continue to operate safely until the end.”
The nomination of Kim, a current worker and former Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), has received a 'surprise selection' reaction from within the Ministry of Employment and Labor. After graduating from university, Kim entered the Korea National Railroad in 1992, served as chairman of the Busan branch of the railroad union in 2000, chairman of the railroad union in 2004, and was the KCTU Chairperson from 2010 to 2012. In 2017, he joined the Justice Party, marking his entry into politics, and in 2020 he ran for Congress as a proportional candidate for the Justice Party and again in 2024 for the Democratic United Party, though he was not elected. He assisted President Lee Jae-myung in the 20th and 21st presidential elections.
The presidential office stated, “Candidate Kim is a person who has represented the voices of labor while serving as Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU),” adding, “We expect him to play a role in strengthening the rights of working people through the reduction of industrial accidents, reform of the Yellow Envelope Law, and a 4.5-day workweek.” If he is inaugurated as Minister, he will become the first Minister of Employment and Labor from the KCTU.