Lee Jae-myung's government has appointed Kim Young-hoon (57, photo), a former Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and currently a railroad engineer, as the first candidate for Minister of Employment and Labor.
The presidential office designated the candidate, saying, "He has represented the voices of labor as a former Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)" and noted, "We expect him to play a role in strengthening the rights of workers through reducing industrial accidents, amending the yellow envelope law, and implementing a 4.5-day workweek."
Born in 1968, Kim is from Busan and graduated from Masan Central High School and Dong-A University, after which he majored in political policy at the Graduate School of NGO Studies at Sungkonghoe University. He began his career as a railroad engineer in 1992 at the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), the predecessor of the Korea Railroad Administration.
He entered the labor movement by serving as the head of the Busan branch of the railroad union and as a Chairperson in 2000 and 2004. He held the position of Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) from 2010 to 2012. He entered the political arena by joining the Justice Party in 2017 and received the 20th proportional representation seat from the Democratic Party of Korea's satellite party, the Democratic Alliance, in the April 10 elections last year.
In the 20th presidential election, he served as the head of the labor committee for Lee Jae-myung's election campaign, supporting labor pledges such as the yellow envelope law and integrated high-speed rail promises. If Kim is inaugurated as Minister, he will be the first Minister of Employment and Labor from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
▲1968 ▲Busan ▲Masan Central High School ▲Dong-A University, Animal Science ▲Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), Busan-Gyeongnam area railroad engineer ▲Public Commissioner, Busan Regional Labor Committee ▲Head of the Labor Headquarters, Justice Party ▲Chairperson of the Korean Railroad Workers’ Union ▲Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) ▲Executive Chairperson of the Task Force for the Investigation of Allegations regarding Incheon International Airport Railroad ▲First Chairperson of the National Transportation Industry Labor Union ▲Chairperson of the Korean Railroad Workers’ Union ▲Policy Director of the Committee for Promoting Democracy in the Korean Railroad Workers’ Union.