Yong Hye-in
South Korean activist and politician
Incumbent
30 May 2020
Bucheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
affiliations
Labor (2013–2019)
New Progressive (2010–2013)
(Christian name : Theodora)
용혜인
龍慧仁
Yong Hye-in (Korean: 용혜인, born 12 April 1990) is a South Korean civil society activist and leader of the Basic Income Party. She was one of the main proponents of the silent march campaign, Stay Where You Are, that originated in an announcement made during the Sinking of MV Sewol in 2014.[1][2]
In the National Assembly, she serves on the Public Administration and Security Committee, Strategy and Finance Committee and Gender Equality and Family Committee. She is also a senior fellow and member of the National Assembly Forum on Basic Income study.
Political career
In 2014, the prosecution requested a prison sentence for leading the Stay Where You Are protest, which was denied. The president at the time of the tragedy was subsequently impeached, and six years later Yong Hye-in was elected to the National Assembly.
In 2020, she founded the Basic Income Party, where 80% of the members were in their 20s and she was its first leader. In 2021 she was re-elected, becoming the third standing representative of the Basic Income Party.
On 23 May 2021, Yong became the third MP in South Korean history to give birth while serving as a sitting member of parliament. Since the birth of her child, Yong had been on maternity leave from Parliament; temporarily substituted while in absence by Basic Income Party leader Shin Ji-hye.[3]
Yong returned to Parliament on 5 June 2021 with her 59-day-old son.[4] "As the mother of a 59-day-old baby, I support all women who give birth to and raise babies," Yong said at the press conference, adding that she hopes her bill, the Child Accompaniment in the National Assembly Chamber Act, will be passed soon. That Act allows members of Congress to bring their infants up to 24 months old who need to be fed into the chamber.
As a working mother, she has been at the forefront in the fight against discrimination against minorities. On 5 May 2023, the Children's Day of South Korea, she delivered a speech with her two-year-old son, advocating for the elimination of "no-kid zones".[5] In May she also became the first in South Korea who proposed the Civil union Act.
In 2022 a tragedy struck in Itaewon, Seoul, claiming the lives of 159 people.[6] She worked as a special committee member for the investigation into the incident and her findings served as a major basis for the impeachment of the responsible minister.[7]
She presents universal basic income as an alternative to inequality and the climate crisis in the post-pandemic era. She has proposed several legislative bills about basic income such as the Basic Income on Carbon Tax Act, Basic Income on Land Tax Act, and has asked the government to actively engage in energy and digital transition. She also operates the study of the National Assembly Forum on basic income.
She was a keynote speaker at the Basic Income Earth Network Congress in Seoul, in 2023.
In June 2023, she insisted that wastewater dumping of Fukushima nuclear disaster be stopped and has proposed a referendum.
Yong Hye-In has been described as someone who is a "vocal supporter of the rights of women, children, working-class people, and other politically underrepresented groups".[8]
Election results
General elections
| Year | Constituency | Political party | Votes (%) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | PR (1st) | Labor Party | 91,705 (0.38%) | Defeated |
| 2020 | PR (5th) | Platform Party[a] | 9,307,112 (33.35%) | Elected |
See also
References
- ^ "[Year end series part I] One young woman who refused to stay where she was". The Hankyoreh. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "College Sewol Activist Charged With Staging Illegal Protests". TBS. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "[인터뷰] 엄마가 된 용혜인 의원이 한국 사회와 정치에 던진 질문은 모두가 귀 기울여야 할 문제다". 23 May 2021.
- ^ 진, 혜민 (5 July 2021). "용혜인, 생후 59일 아들과 함께 국회 출근…"아이동반법 통과 노력"". 여성신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Min-kyung, Jung (5 May 2023). "Lawmaker's call to abolish 'no kids zones' sparks controversy". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "South Korea: How the Halloween tragedy unfolded". BBC News. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "A look back on interior minister's 9 months of scandals ahead of impeachment trial". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Hawon, Jung (2 December 2023). "The South Korean woman who adopted her best friend". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
References
- ^ Originally a member of the Basic Income Party but ran under the Platform Party banner. She was expelled from the party on 12 May 2020 in order to return to her original party.
External links
- Yong Hye-in's website (in Korean)
- Yong Hye-in on Facebook (in Korean)
- Yong Hye-in on Instagram
- Yong Hye-in on Twitter
(in Korean) - Yong Hye-in's channel on YouTube (in Korean)
- Bill allowing politicians to take babies to work look set to pass
- In country with world’s lowest fertility rate, doubts creep in about wisdom of ‘no-kids zones’
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