Sasang () is a constituency 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 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The constituency consists of

Sasang District Sasang District () is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 35.84 km2, and a population of about 275,000. Sasang District became a ''gu'' of Busan in 1995. Administrative divisions Sasang District is divided into 8 l ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. As of 2024, 181,823 eligible voters were registered in the constituency. The constituency was created in 2000 after the consolidation of the Sasang A and Sasang B constituencies.

History

Sasang, like the majority of constituencies located in the

Busan–Gyeongnam Area Busan–Gyeongnam Area, also known as Pusan–Kyŏngnam (PK) is the metropolitan area of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do (Gyeongnam) located in southeast South Korea. History Until 1963, before Busan become a "List of special cities of South ...

is widely considered a stronghold for the conservative People Power Party. Accordingly, the constituency has consistently elected members of conservative political parties and allied independents, with the only exception being in

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 ...

when Moon Jae-in of the liberal

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 ...

was elected. Kwon Chul-hyun of the conservative

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 ...

was the first member to represent the constituency. He won re-election 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 ...

, but was "cut-off" from being re-nominated 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 ...

. He was succeeded by Chang Je-won, the son of former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea Chang Sŏng-man. Chang did not run for re-election in 2012 due to a bribery scandal, and the

Saenuri 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 Hanna ...

nominated Son Su-jo as the party's candidate for Sasang.

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 ...

of the liberal Democratic United Party defeated Son in the general election, marking the only time a member of a

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

, liberal party won in the constituency. Moon led an unsuccessful presidential campaign in the

2012 South Korean presidential election Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. They were the sixth presidential elections since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic of South Korea, Sixth Republic, and were held under a First Past t ...

and remained as the member of the National Assembly for Sasang. Moon did not run for re-election and was succeeded by the constituency's former member Chang Je-won. Chang, who ran as an independent candidate, garnered 37.5% of the vote and narrowly beat out Democratic opponent Bae Jae-jung in a three-way race. Chang won re-election in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

with 52.03% of the vote, once again defeating Bae Jae-jung of the Democratic Party. Ahead of the

2024 South Korean legislative election Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 10 April 2024. All 300 members of the National Assembly (South Korea), National Assembly were elected, 254 from first-past-the-post South Korean Legislature Constituencies, constituencies and 46 ...

, Chang announced that he would not stand for re-election. The People Power Party nominated Kim Dae-sik, who went on to win the general election; Bae Jae-jung marked her third consecutive loss in Sasang.

Boundaries

The constituency encompasses the entirety of Sasang District, Busan. It borders the constituencies of Seo–Dong to the southeast, Saha A to the south, Busanjin A and Busanjin B to the east, Buk A to the north, and Gangseo to the west.

History

Boundaries

List of members in the National Assembly

Election results

2024

2020

2016

2012

2008

2004

2000

See also

References