Yang Yiwonyoung or Yang Yi Wonyoung (; born 14 May 1971) is a South Korean politician and

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

currently serving as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member of National Assembly.

Biography

Yang holds three degrees: a bachelor in biology from

Sogang University Sogang University (SU; ) is a private Jesuit research university in Mapo, Seoul, South Korea. Sogang University was established on April 18, 1960 by the Society of Jesus, with the school being the oldest and only Jesuit institution of higher e ...

, a MPP from

KDI School of Public Policy and Management The KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School, Hangul: KDI 국제정책대학원대학교; Hanja: KDI 國際政策大學院大學校) is a government-run graduate school located in Sejong City, South Korea and is affiliated to the ...

and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, formerly known as Handelshochschule Leipzig, is a private business school based in Saxony, Germany. Established in 1898, it is one of the world's oldest business schools. The school is accredited interna ...

. Before entering politics, Yang dedicated her career in civil societies, specifically environment movements. She has worked at Korea Federation for Environmental Movements for over a decade. She also led civil movements calling for nuclear free societies and transition to green(er) energy. In the 2020 general election, she was recruited by and joined

Platform Party The Platform Party (), also known as Citizen's Party of Korea, was an electoral alliance and political party in South Korea formed in order to run for party-list proportional representation in 2020 South Korean legislative election. History ...

after the party launched their version of the

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

. After the election, Platform Party and its sister party, Democratic Party, merged as planned which resulted in her becoming a member of the party she previously criticised for "its lack of green initiatives and pro-nuclear energy stances." She legally changed her name to Yang Yiwonyoung (Yang as last name and the rest as given name) to reflect both of her parents' last names in her name in May 2020. Her previous legal name, Yang Wonyoung, had her dad's last name, Yang, but not her mom's last name, Yi, like most Koreans. However, she has been using "Yang Yi Wonyoung" as her name even before the court confirmed her name change, which is standard procedure for any type of name change. She is the first parliamentarian in Korea to have and use their name which has both of their parents' last names during their terms . On 8 June 2021, Yang Yiwonyoung was kicked out of the Democratic Party for violating real estate and land speculation laws during the LH Scandal which rocked the ruling Democratic Party. If the Party rules that she is expelled, then she will be able to keep her seat as an independent lawmaker. However, if she voluntarily leaves the Party, then she will lose her seat as a lawmaker elected under proportional representation. Yang Yi maintains her innocence and is fully complying with a government audit. Yang was readmitted to the Democratic Party on 8 October 2021 after being cleared of all charges.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Yiwonyoung Sogang University alumni Living people 1971 births Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Democratic Party of Korea politicians Women members of the National Assembly (South Korea)