The ruling Saenuri Party’s new leader Rep. Lee Jung-hyun began his political career in 1985 by joining the Democratic Justice Party, South Korea’s ruling party, where he was a rank-and-file member from 1980 to 1988. He then joined the Saenuri Party’s precursor Grand National Party and won his first lawmaker’s seat in 2008 through proportional representation.

 

Lee came into the spotlight after running in the 2012 election as a conservative candidate representing the liberal stronghold Gwangju. Though he was defeated by a narrow margin, his bid was hailed as a rare attempt to break the nation’s entrenched regionalism.

Although without a parliamentary seat, Lee secured himself a solid place in the party by acting as a trusted mouthpiece for then-presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. His humble manner, candor and close relations with the media helped Park through a number of campaign struggles.

In 2013, he was appointed as senior presidential secretary for political affairs, and afterwards, served as the senior secretary for public relations until he ran in the 2014 by-election. He was elected in South Jeolla Province, becoming the first conservative politician to be elected in the southern region since 1985.

The 57-year-old politician is viewed as a staunch loyalist to President Park and this has often put him in the hot seat. In June, Lee was accused of having attempted to manipulate a public broadcaster’s coverage about the Sewol tragedy in favor of the government. 

By Yeo Jun-suk
(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)