Yun Ho-jung (Korean: 윤호중, born 27 March 1963) is a South Korean politician and former activist. He has been the parliamentary leader of the Democratic Party since 16 April 2021. He is currently the interim President of the party since 10 March 2022, which he previously served from 16 April to 2 May 2021. He also served as the Secretary-General of his party from 2018 to 2020. He is also the incumbent Member of the National Assembly for Guri.
He started his political career in 1988 as assistant administrator in the Office of Planning & Coordination of the Peace Democratic Party.[2][7] Then, he became closer to the party chairman, Kim Dae-jung (aka DJ), who was later elected the President of the Republic.[2] Yun used to work at the Office of the President under President Kim, mainly handling issues related to policy planning.[2] From 1991, he has also been the secretary to the former MP Han Kwang-ok, a notable pro-DJ figure.[8]
Yun initially ran as an MP candidate for Guri in the 2000 election under the banner of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) but was not elected.[8] The year after, he was appointed deputy spokesperson of the MDP.[8] He later withdrew from the MDP and joined the Uri Party, along with the other dissidents. In the 2004 election, he was elected to the National Assembly.[2][7]
On 16 April 2021, Yun was elected the new parliamentary leader of the Democratic Party, defeating Park Wan-joo.[12][13][14] He has also become the acting party President, as the position was vacant since the resignation of Lee Nak-yon in March.[13][14]
Political views
Formerly holding pro-LGBT views,[15] Yun expressed anti-LGBT views prior to the 2020 South Korean legislative election, stating that his party is not willing to cooperate with pro-LGBT parties, such as Green Party Korea.[16] He is a moderate figure of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction.[2]
Controversy
On 27 March 2021, during the campaign of Park Young-sun, who was running for Mayor of Seoul in the 2021 by-elections, Yun told people, "There is a candidate who keeps lying, even though he knows he owns a property in Naegok-dong.", referring the PPP candidate and former Mayor Oh Se-hoon.[17][18] He then asked people, "Is he rubbish or not?", and gave the answer, "Yes, he is rubbish."[17][18] He also stated: "(Oh) approved a master plan, but he kept denying he had done so. Is he rubbish or not?"[18] He finally urged people to "separate the rubbish properly on 7 April."[18] The PPP subsequently condemned his remarks as "severe hate speech" and "ruinous social splitting that must be stopped immediately."[18]