Chun Jung-bae (; born 12 December 1954) is a South Korean politician who was the joint chairman of the People's Party, alongside

Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo (; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in po ...

. He is a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

for

Seo District, Gwangju Seo District () is a district of Gwangju, South Korea. Its hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they ...

since 2015, having previously represented

Ansan Ansan (, ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and some islands lie ...

from 1996 to 2012. He served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 2005 to 2006 under President

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

. Chun was credited with securing Roh's victory in the 2002 presidential election and, as

floor leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...

of Roh's

Uri Party The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling social-liberal political party in South Korea from 2003 to 2007. A liberal party, it was created to support then-President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last ...

, the party's subsequent majority in the 2004 legislative election. In 2007, Chun defected from the Uri Party to the

United New Democratic Party The Grand Unified Democratic New Party (GUDNP; ) was a political party of South Korea. It was formed out of the Uri Party and its resulting splinter groups. Chung Dong-young was the party's candidate in the 2007 South Korean presidential elec ...

after entering into conflict with other members of the pro-Roh group, including then-presidential chief of staff

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

. After standing unsuccessfully for a seat in Seoul in the

2012 elections * 2012 United Nations Security Council election Africa Egypt * 2012 Egyptian presidential election Mali * 2012 Malian presidential election * 2012 Malian parliamentary election Senegal * 2012 Senegalese presidential election * 2012 Senegalese p ...

for the

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (DP; ), formerly the Democratic United Party (DUP; ) until 2013, was a Liberalism in South Korea, liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 De ...

, Chun organized the presidential nomination campaign of Kim Doo-kwan as an alternative candidate to Moon, who would become the party's nominee. Continuing to oppose Moon, by that time party leader, he left the DUP's successor the

New Politics Alliance for Democracy The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK or DP; , ) is a liberal political party in South Korea. The DPK and its rival, the People Power Party (PPP), form the two major political parties of South Korea. It is the ruling party following the victory ...

in March 2015, citing the party's lack of reformist leadership. He ran as an independent that year in a by-election in Gwangju, commonly viewed as a stronghold of the main liberal party, and defeated the NPAD candidate in a shock landslide victory on April 29, returning to the Assembly. In September 2015, a number of NPAD lawmakers in contact with Chun defected from the party, triggering speculation over the formation of a new party; on September 19, Chun publicly announced that he would establish a new party in opposition to the NPAD. Chun established a new People's Reform Party, and joined forces with Ahn Cheol-soo in January 2016 to form the People's Party. In the lead-up to the 2016 parliamentary elections, however, Chun came into conflict with Ahn in March over the prospect of an electoral alliance with the Minjoo Party of Korea, the NPAD's successor; Chun vowed to boycott party meetings until Ahn withdrew from his opposition to such a pact. He backed down after a private meeting with Ahn on March 15, and the alliance with the Minjoo Party ultimately failed to materialize. On December 26, 2016, he declared that he will be running for President in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and will face his former co-leader Ahn.

References

1954 births Living people People's Party (South Korea, 2016) politicians Uri Party politicians Democratic Party (South Korea, 2000) politicians Justice ministers of South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Politicians from South Jeolla Province People from Sinan County Jung-bae Seoul National University School of Law alumni {{SouthKorea-politician-stub