Kim Gi-hyeon (, born 21 February 1959) is a South Korean lawyer and politician who served as the

Mayor of Ulsan The Mayor of Ulsan () is the head of the local government of Ulsan who is elected to a four-year term. List of mayors Appointed mayors (before 1995) From 1945 to 1995, the Mayor of Ulsan was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea ...

from 2014 to 2018. He was the acting President of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

People Power Party The People Power Party (PPP; ) is a Conservatism in South Korea, conservative and Right-wing politics, right-wing List of political parties in South Korea, political party in South Korea. It is the second-largest party in the National Ass ...

(PPP) from 30 April to 11 June 2021.

Career

Kim Gi-hyeon was born in Sanha-ri, Gangdong-myeon,

Ulju Ulju County () is a county occupying much of western Ulsan, South Korea. History Many artefacts and historic sites from the prehistoric age show that a settlement of settlers had already been formed in Ulju-gun in the prehistoric age. Jungsan-ri, ...

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heri ...

(now Gangdong-dong, North District,

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

) in 1959. He is the 4th of 6 children of Kim Byung-geuk, the former Member of the South Gyeongsang Legislative Assembly from

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. He attended to Busan East High School before studying law at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

. After qualifying for the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1983, he worked in various non-governmental organisations i.e. Director of

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. He was appointed the deputy spokesperson of the

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

(GNP) in 2003. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he ran for South District 2nd constituency and was elected. He was re-elected in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. On 12 April 2014, he contested

Saenuri The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for Ulsan mayorship and defeated Kang Ghil-boo. He resigned his parliamentary membership on 5 May in order to register his candidacy. On

4 June Events Pre-1600 * 1411 – King Charles VI grants a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries. *1525 – 1525 Bayham Abbey riot; Villagers from Kent an ...

, he received 65.42% and defeated the

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

candidate Jo Seung-soo. Following the election, Kim showed his intention to run for the 2017 election, comparing an example of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, the former

Governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...

who was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Following the political scandal in 2016, he was expected to leave his party, but confirmed to remain. In 2018, Kim was again nominated the Ulsan Mayor candidate for the 2018 local elections. Initially, he led on some polls due to his high popularity. Nevertheless, he then came behind to the Democratic candidate Song Cheol-ho. On 13 June, he finally lost to the Democratic candidate. On 29 January 2020, Kim launched his bid for the 2020 election. He contested UFP

for South District 2nd constituency and defeated

Park Maeng-woo Park Maeng-woo (; born December 6, 1951) is a South Korean politician who formerly served as Mayor of Ulsan from 2002 to 2014. Education * 1980: Graduated from Kookmin University with a degree in political science * 2001: Graduated from the ' ...

. On 30 April 2021, Kim was elected the new parliamentary leader of the

(PPP), defeating Kim Tae-heum,

Kweon Seong-dong Kweon Seong-dong (, born 29 April 1960) is a South Korean lawyer and politician. A member of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), he has been the Member of Parliament for Gangneung since 2009. Before entering politics, Kweon worked as ...

and

Yu Eui-dong Yu Eui-dong (, born 23 June 1971) is a South Korean conservative politician who is a National Assembly (South Korea), Member of National Assembly for the Pyeongtaek B constituency since 2014. Early career Prior to his political career, Yu stu ...

. He also served as the acting party President until

Lee Jun-seok Lee Jun-seok (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who has served as the member of the National Assembly for Hwaseong B since 2024. A member of the Reform Party, he was the party's nominee in the 2025 presidential election a ...

was elected the new president on 11 June. He resigned as the parliamentary leader on 3 January 2022, but returned to the position 3 days later. On 29 March, he made his resignation without coming back to the position, in order to refurbish the party leadership.

Ideology

Kim's political position is described as

within the context of South Korean politics. While serving as an MP, he was a member of South Korean centrist groups within the

(GNP). He is pro-

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

. He is critical of the welfare system.

Personal life

Kim is married to Lee Sun-ae and has a son and a daughter.

Election results

General elections

Local elections

Mayor of
Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Gi-hyeon 1959 births Living people 20th-century South Korean lawyers 21st-century South Korean lawyers 21st-century mayors of places in South Korea Liberty Korea Party politicians Seoul National University School of Law alumni Mayors of Ulsan People from Ulsan Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) 21st-century South Korean politicians People Power Party (South Korea) politicians South Korean judges