Kim Gi-hyeon (, born 21 February 1959) is a South Korean lawyer and politician who served as the mayor of Ulsan from 2014 to 2018. He was the acting leader of the People Power Party from April to June 2021.
Career Kim Gi-hyeon was born in Sanha-ri, Gangdong-myeon, Ulju, South Gyeongsang (now Gangdong-dong, North District, Ulsan) in 1959. He is the 4th of 6 children of Kim Byung-geuk, the former Member of the South Gyeongsang Legislative Assembly from 1960 to 1961.
He attended to Busan East High School before studying law at Seoul National University. After qualifying for the bar in 1983, he worked in various non-governmental organisations i.e. Director of YMCA in Ulsan.
He was appointed the deputy spokesperson of the Grand National Party (GNP) in 2003. In 2004, he ran for Nam B constituency and was elected. He was re-elected in 2008 and 2012. On 12 April 2014, he contested Saenuri preselection for Ulsan mayorship and defeated Kang Ghil-boo. He resigned his parliamentary membership on 5 May in order to register his candidacy. On 4 June, he received 65.42% and defeated the Justice candidate Jo Seung-soo.
Following the election, Kim showed his intention to run for the 2017 election, comparing an example of Bill Clinton, the former Governor of Arkansas who was elected the President of the United States. Following the political scandal in 2016, he was expected to leave his party, but confirmed to remain.
In 2018, Kim was again nominated the Ulsan Mayor candidate for the 2018 local elections. Initially, he led on some polls due to his high popularity. Nevertheless, he then came behind to the Democratic candidate Song Cheol-ho. On 13 June, he finally lost to the Democratic candidate.
On 29 January 2020, Kim launched his bid for the 2020 election. He contested UFP preselection for Nam B constituency and defeated Park Maeng-woo.
On 30 April 2021, Kim was elected the new parliamentary leader of the People Power Party (PPP), defeating Kim Tae-heum, Kweon Seong-dong and Yu Eui-dong. He also served as the acting party President until Lee Jun-seok was elected the new president on 11 June. He resigned as the parliamentary leader on 3 January 2022, but returned to the position 3 days later. On 29 March, he made his resignation without coming back to the position, in order to refurbish the party leadership.
Ideology Kim's political position is described as conservative within the context of South Korean politics. While serving as an MP, he was a member of South Korean centrist groups within the Grand National Party (GNP). He is pro-Lee Myung-bak. He is critical of the welfare system.
Personal life Kim is married to Lee Sun-ae and has a son and a daughter.
Election results General elections Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2004 17th National Assembly General Election Nan B (Ulsan) GNP 29,347 (45.56%) Won 2008 18th National Assembly General Election Nam B (Ulsan) GNP 30,077 (62.00%) Won 2012 19th National Assembly General Election Nam B (Ulsan) Saenuri 38,054 (56.57%) Won 2020 21st National Assembly General Election Nam B (Ulsan) UFP 48,933 (58.48%) Won 2024 22nd National Assembly General Election Nam B (Ulsan) PPP 44,502 (56.22%) Won
Local elections Mayor of Ulsan Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2014 6th Iocal Election Ulsan(Mayoral Elections) Saenuri 306,311 (65.42%) Won 2018 7th Iocal Election Ulsan(Mayoral Elections) LKP 240,475 (40.07%) Defeated
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