Yong Hye-in

Yong Hye-in (, born 12 April 1990) is a South Korean civil society activist who has served as the leader of the Basic Income Party since 2022. 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.

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 she was absent by Basic Income Party leader Shin Ji-hye.

Yong returned to Parliament on 5 June 2021 with her 59-day-old son.

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. In May she also became the first in South Korea who proposed the Civil union Act.

After the Seoul Halloween crowd crush, 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.

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 and the 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 from the Fukushima nuclear accident be stopped and proposed a referendum.

Yong has been described as someone who is a "vocal supporter of the rights of women, children, working-class people, and other politically underrepresented groups".

In September 13, 2026, Yong stepped down as a candidate for the minister of Gender Equality and Family after a request from the Democratic Party.

Electoral history General elections Year Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2016 PR (1st) Labor Party 91,705 (0.38%) Defeated 2020 PR (5th) Platform Party 9,307,112 (33.35%) Elected 2024 PR (6th) Democratic Alliance 7,567,459 (26.69%) Elected

Yong Hye-in

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