Yong Hye-in
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|
Yong Hye-in | |
|---|---|
용혜인 | |
 | |
| Leader of the Basic Income Party | |
| Assumed office 1 September 2022[a] | |
| Preceded by | Shin Ji-hye Kim Young-gil (acting) |
| In office 19 January 2020 – 23 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Park Ki-hong (acting) Shin Ji-hye |
| Floor Leader of the Basic Income Party | |
| Assumed office 30 May 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 30 May 2020 | |
| Constituency | Proportional |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 April 1990 Bucheon, South Korea |
| Party | Basic Income Party |
Other political affiliations | Platform (2020) Labor (2013–2019) New Progressive (2010–2013) |
| Education | Kyung Hee University |
| Signature |  |
| Website | yonghyein |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 용혜인 |
| Hanja | 龍慧仁 |
| RR | Yong Hyein |
| MR | Yong Hyein |
Yong Hye-in (Korean: 용혜인, born 12 April 1990) is a South Korean civil society activist who has served as the leader of the Basic Income Party since 2022. She was one of the main proponents of the silent march campaign, Stay Where You Are, that originated in an announcement made during the sinking of MV Sewol in 2014.[1][2]
In the National Assembly, she serves on the Public Administration and Security Committee, Strategy and Finance Committee, and Gender Equality and Family Committee. She is also a senior fellow and member of the National Assembly Forum on Basic Income study.
Political career
[edit]In 2014, the prosecution requested a prison sentence for leading the Stay Where You Are protest, which was denied. The president at the time of the tragedy was subsequently impeached, and six years later Yong Hye-in was elected to the National Assembly.[citation needed]
In 2020, she founded the Basic Income Party, where 80% of the members were in their 20s, and she was its first leader. In 2021, she was re-elected, becoming the third standing representative of the Basic Income Party.[citation needed]
On 23 May 2021, Yong became the third MP in South Korean history to give birth while serving as a sitting member of parliament. Since the birth of her child, Yong had been on maternity leave from Parliament, temporarily substituted while she was absent by Basic Income Party leader Shin Ji-hye.[3]
Yong returned to Parliament on 5 June 2021 with her 59-day-old son.[4]
On 5 May 2023, the Children's Day of South Korea, she delivered a speech with her two-year-old son, advocating for the elimination of no kid zones.[5] In May she also became the first in South Korea who proposed the Civil union Act.
After the Seoul Halloween crowd crush, she worked as a special committee member for the investigation into the incident, and her findings served as a major basis for the impeachment of the responsible minister.[6]
She presents universal basic income as an alternative to inequality and the climate crisis in the post-pandemic era. She has proposed several legislative bills about basic income, such as the Basic Income on Carbon Tax Act and the Basic Income on Land Tax Act, and has asked the government to actively engage in energy and digital transition. She also operates the study of the National Assembly Forum on basic income.[citation needed]
She was a keynote speaker at the Basic Income Earth Network Congress, in Seoul, in 2023.[citation needed]
In June 2023, she insisted that wastewater dumping from the Fukushima nuclear accident be stopped and proposed a referendum.[citation needed]
Yong has been described as someone who is a "vocal supporter of the rights of women, children, working-class people, and other politically underrepresented groups".[7]
In September 13, 2026, Yong stepped down as a candidate for the minister of Gender Equality and Family after a request from the Democratic Party.[8]
Electoral history
[edit]General elections
[edit]| Year | Constituency | Political party | Votes (%) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | PR (1st) | Labor Party | 91,705 (0.38%) | Defeated |
| 2020 | PR (5th) | Platform Party[b] | 9,307,112 (33.35%) | Elected |
| 2024 | PR (6th) | Democratic Alliance[c] | 7,567,459 (26.69%) | Elected |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Oh Jun-ho served as acting party leader from 9 May 2024 to 30 June 2024.
- ↑ Originally a member of the Basic Income Party but ran under the Platform Party banner. She was expelled from the party on 12 May 2020 in order to return to her original party.
- ↑ Originally a member of the Basic Income Party but ran under the Democratic Alliance banner. She was expelled from the party in order to return to her original party.
References
[edit]- ↑ "[Year end series part I] One young woman who refused to stay where she was". The Hankyoreh. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "College Sewol Activist Charged With Staging Illegal Protests". TBS. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "[인터뷰] 엄마가 된 용혜인 의원이 한국 사회와 정치에 던진 질문은 모두가 귀 기울여야 할 문제다". 23 May 2021.
- ↑ 진, 혜민 (5 July 2021). 용혜인, 생후 59일 아들과 함께 국회 출근…"아이동반법 통과 노력". The Women's News (in Korean). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ↑ Jung, Min-kyung (5 May 2023). "Lawmaker's call to abolish 'no kids zones' sparks controversy". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ↑ "A look back on interior minister's 9 months of scandals ahead of impeachment trial". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ↑ Jung, Hawon (2 December 2023). "The South Korean woman who adopted her best friend". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ↑ Lee, Yonguk (13 September 2026). "용혜인 사퇴 "떳떳하지 않은 것 없지만 민주당서 결단 요청"". Retrieved 13 September 2026.