Kang Gi-gap (, born ) is a South Korean farmer who has also worked as a journalist and politician, having started his career as a farmer's rights activist. He served as a National Assembly member for the Democratic Labor Party during the 17th and 18th sessions and was a prominent progressive politician within the Democratic Labor Party and the Unified Progressive Party. He was well-known for his distinctive appearance, characterised by traditional Korean attire, specifically hanbok and durumagi, rubber shoes and a beard.
He served as vice-chairman of the National Farmers' Association and participated in the movement opposing the Korea-US FTA. In 1991, while attending a rally in Seoul against the Uruguay Round, he became aware of the issue regarding unmarried rural men and garnered public attention by spearheading an initiative to help them find spouses. He also worked as a regional bureau chief for The Hankyoreh newspaper and served as a director and auditor for the Sacheon-eup Agricultural Cooperative Federation. After entering politics, he made headlines in December 2008 when a photograph of him protesting inside the office of the National Assembly deputy speaker against the "railroading" of an FTA-related bill went viral. He had previously served as the Sacheon bureau chief of The Hankyoreh in 1988. After retiring from politics, he returned to farming. His Catholic baptismal name is Roberto.
Career
Early years Kang Gi-gap was born on June 7, 1953, in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, as the third son of Kang Jin-gyu. He has two older brothers and a younger brother. He also has four sisters. At the age of 39, he married Park Young-ok, and they have three sons and one daughter.
Although he was once threatened with suspension from school, he managed to avoid it by displaying his eloquence and quick wit. After graduating from Sadong Elementary School, he went on to Sacheon Middle School, where he was reportedly a relatively quiet student. He graduated from Sacheon Middle School in 1968 and subsequently entered and graduated from Sacheon Agricultural High School.
Activities of Farmers' Organisations
Early stages of activities by agricultural and farmers' organisations After graduating from Sacheon Agricultural High School in 1971, he engaged in farming, including dairy and fruit cultivation. Shortly after he began farming, he injured his back and took a break for about two years; during this time, his family arranged other employment for him as farming was not proving profitable. However, he resisted the temptation to pursue other work and returned to agriculture. At one point in 1988 he joined The Hankyoreh newspaper as a reporter and served as the head of its Sacheon-gun bureau.
In 1976 he joined the Catholic Farmers' Association and began balancing farming with participation in the farmers' movement. Following the rise of the Chun Doo-hwan regime in 1980, the crackdown on the farmers' movement intensified, and he faced persecution by the government. Many activists abandoned the movement during this period. Overcome by disappointment and frustration regarding the farmers, the rural communities, and his departing colleagues—and feeling that he could not continue the movement while harbouring such resentment toward the farmers—Kang entered a monastery and became a lay brother. However, in 1987, having resolved his lingering bitterness regarding rural life, he returned to the countryside.
He served as the head of the Sacheon Gyeongnam province of the Catholic Farmers' Association in 1988, and the head of the Gyeongsangnam federation of the same association from 1987 to 1991. From 1989 to 1991, he chaired the National Committee on Marriage Measures for Rural Bachelors. He participated in the formation of the Sacheon Farmers' Association in 1990 and became the head of the Sacheon City Farmers' Association in 1996. He also served as the vice-chairman of the Korean Peasants League.
Activities of the National Farmers' Association and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) When the decision to open the market to imports was made during the 1991 Uruguay Round, many farmers travelled to Seoul to stage protests; Kang Gi-gap was among them, leading demonstrations before being detained by police. While in the detention centre, he had a realisation. Exchanging greetings with fellow activists from various regions, he discovered a large number of unmarried male farmers in their mid-thirties or older. He immediately organised the "Committee for Addressing Marriage Issues for Rural Bachelors" and assumed the role of its chairman. Many rural bachelors and farmers sought out the committee, and the initiative garnered significant attention by successfully facilitating marriages for approximately 130 couples.
He became a delegate to the Korean Peasants League (KPL) in 1998 and served as the vice-chair of the KPL’s South Gyeongsang Province branch from 1998 to 1999; in 1999, he was elected vice-chair of the KPL’s national headquarters. In 2000, he was elected chair of the KPL's South Gyeongsang Province branch and appointed chair of the KPL headquarters' Committee on Cooperative Reform. He became a board member of the Sacheon Agricultural Cooperative in 2001, and subsequently served as its auditor, a position he resigned from in 2003. In 2004, he became vice-chair of the KPL and was also appointed auditor of the Catholic Farmers' Association.
In 2004, following a struggle to block the ratification of the FTA, he joined the Democratic Labor Party and entered politics.
Political activities
Early days of entering politics He entered politics after a career as a farmers' rights activist and secured a seat in the 17th National Assembly as a proportional representation lawmaker representing farmers for the Democratic Labor Party; he particularly drew attention for his distinctive appearance, featuring a beard and traditional attire. In July 2004, he became a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Maritime and Fisheries Committee and was simultaneously elected to the Special Committee on Ethics.
In the April 2008 election for the 18th National Assembly, he ran in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, against Lee Bang-ho—the Grand National Party’s Secretary-General and a close aide to President Lee Myung-bak. Although opinion polls and TV exit polls on election day predicted a defeat by a wide margin, he won the race by a margin of 178 votes.
There are several reasons behind Kang Gi-gap’s victory in Sacheon, a traditional stronghold of the Grand National Party. First, the city of Sacheon was formed in 1995 through the merger of Samcheonpo City and Sacheon County; Lee Bang-ho hailed from the former Samcheonpo City, whereas Kang Gi-gap came from the former Sacheon County. Furthermore, because no National Assembly member had previously emerged from the former Sacheon County area, a phenomenon of concentrated voting for Kang Gi-gap occurred within that region.
In addition, rural residents held a favourable view of the candidate, who came from a farming background. Due to this combination of factors, Kang Gi-gap won by a narrow margin. In May 2008, he was elected floor leader of the Democratic Labor Party.
Controversy over U.S. beef and participation in candlelight vigils
In 2008, the Lee Myung-bak administration and the Grand National Party unilaterally pushed ahead with the renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). During an interview with producer Kim Young-sun, Kang Gi-gap stated that the parliamentary investigation into the beef issue had effectively concluded after the ruling party excluded the production team of the program PD Note from the list of witnesses for the beef hearings. He also criticized the government for delaying the hearings, citing issues regarding witnesses and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's intentional failure to submit relevant documents.
Citing a December 2007 report reviewing measures regarding U.S beef, Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon argued that the Roh Moo-hyun administration had acknowledged the inevitability of a political settlement in the beef negotiations with the U.S. prior to the presidential election and had prepared a roadmap that included accepting OIE standards.
Lawmaker Kang Gi-gap frequently appeared at the candlelight vigils held in connection with the controversy over U.S. beef imports that began in April 2008, He also participated in a 100-minute debate that addressed the topic.
In July 2008, he served as a member of the Special Committee on Parliamentary Investigation. That same month, he was elected to the Supreme Council of the Democratic Labor Party and subsequently became its party leader. Additionally, he concurrently served as a member of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts and the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee.
Movement against the KORUS FTA Upon entering the National Assembly, he served as a member of the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and participated in the movement opposing the KORUS FTA.
On 28 May 2008, he was elected as the floor leader of the Democratic Labor Party for the 18th National Assembly. In June, they participated in an agreement among the three opposition parties to refuse to attend parliamentary sessions, including the opening of the 18th National Assembly, until a renegotiation of the KORUS FTA was declared. He ran in the Democratic Labor Party leadership election in July, defeated former Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Lee Soo-ho, and served as the party leader.
In December 2008, he made headlines after a photograph captured him leaping through the air toward the podium; he had rushed in to protest the Grand National Party's unilateral attempt to railroad an FTA bill through the National Assembly, confronting the Secretary-General and other lawmakers over the move to force the legislation through without consensus.
Parliamentary pension issue In August 2010, an amendment to the Act on the Promotion of the Republic of Korea Constitutional Association, which provided a pension of 1.2 million won former members of the National Assembly who had served at least one term and had reached the age 65, Kang Gi-gap voted in favour of this motion, which caused criticism.
Activities of the Unified Progressive Party In December 2011, following the merger of the Democratic Labor Party, People's Participation Party and factions of the New Progressive Party to form the Unified Progressive Party, he participated in the new party's founding and served as its floor leader before stepping down. Later, as factional infighting erupted between the "old guard" and the "new guard" within the party, he assumed the role of chairman of the emergency steering committee as a representative of a third faction, striving to resolve and mediate the internal conflicts and disputes.
In the 19th National Assembly election held on 11 April 2012, he ran for the newly established constituency of Sacheon-si, Namhae-gun, and Hadong-gun—formed by merging the former Sacheon-si constituency with the Namhae-gun and Hadong-gun constituency—in a bid for a third term; however, he finished third, losing to the incumbent lawmaker for Namhae-gun and Hadong-gun, Yeo Sang-kyu of the Saenuri Party, and his own predecessor, the former lawmaker for Sacheon-si, independent candidate Lee Bang-ho. While he placed second in Sacheon-si (behind Lee Bang-ho) and outperformed Lee Bang-ho in Namhae-gun and Hadong-gun, it was Yeo Sang-kyu who ultimately took first place.