| Jang Kyung-tae | |
| Native Name Lang: | ko |
| Birth Date: | 12 October 1983 |
| Birth Place: | Suncheon, South Jeolla, South Korea |
| Citizenship: | South Korean |
| Office1: | Member of the National Assembly |
| Constituency1: | Dongdaemun B |
| Term Start1: | 30 May 2020 |
| Predecessor1: | Min Byung-doo |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Otherparty: | Uri (2006-2007) UNDP (2007-2008) UDP (2008) Democratic (2008-2011) DUP (2011-2013) Democratic (2013-2014) NPAD (2014-2015) |
| Alma Mater: | University of Seoul Yonsei University Sungkyunkwan University |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Parents: | Jang Hyo-shik (father) |
| Blank1: | Religion |
| Data1: | Roman Catholic (Christian name : Andrew) |
Jang Kyung-tae (; born 12 October 1983) is a South Korean politician. A member of the liberal Democratic Party, he is currently the Member of the National Assembly for Dongdaemun 2nd constituency.
Born in Suncheon, South Jeolla, Jang attended Suncheon High School.[1] [2] [3] Due to his financial difficulties, he once dropped out and was involved in labouring.[4] [2] He obtained a bachelor's degree in public administration at University of Seoul, as well as a master's degree in political science at Yonsei University.[1] [2] [3] He is currently studying a doctorate in public administration from Sungkyunkwan University.[1] [2] [3]
While studying, Jang joined politics as a volunteer for Kang Kum-sil, who contested for Seoul mayorship under the banner of the then ruling Uri Party in 2006 local elections.[5] [6] [2] Prior to the 2007 presidential election, he helped Lee Hae-chan, a presidential pre-candidate for the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) who lost to Chung Dong-young.[6] [7] He unsuccessfully contested for the Member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council in 2010 local elections.[2]
On 1 April 2013, he announced his intention to run as a candidate for a Vice President of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),[8] but later lost in preselection.[2] In 2016 election, he ran 24th list in the Democratic Party list, but was not elected;[2] in fact, only up to 13th were elected. As one of rare youth politicians in South Korea,[5] his role model is Tony Blair and David Cameron; both started their political careers in 20s and later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[6]
On 20 March 2020, Jang was selected the candidate of the Democratic Party for Dongdaemun 2nd constituency in April general election.[3] However, shortly before this, Min Byung-doo, the then MP for the constituency, was excluded from preselection, and announced his intention to run as an independent candidate.[9] There were speculations that this vote split would not lead Jang to be elected,[7] however, on 9 April, Min announced his withdrawal as a candidate and endorsed Jang.[10] [11] On 15 April, Jang received 54.54% and defeated the United Future candidate Lee Hye-hoon,[12] who was the MP for Seocho 1st constituency.
On 25 August 2020, during a YouTube livestream with another 2 Democratic MPs — Kim Nam-kuk and Lee Jae-jung, Jang triggered a controversy over his remarks against several United Future MPs who are also the members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (LJC).[13] [14] [15] Shortly after Kim left the venue to join the LJC general meeting, Jang said, "LJC... sounds like fun, uh, no, not fun, but should be exciting."[13] [14] Soon, Lee asked him, "Are you enjoying their fighting?"[13] [14] Then, Jang replied, "Sorry to hear that. How come they talk nonsense... can I use the term bulls**t? How can we hear their bulls**ts?"[13] [14]
Following his remarks, Kim Do-eup, a United Future MP, accused Jang's remarks as an "insult towards the LJC members" and urged the Democratic Party to apologise.[14] [15] He also added that the party would take an action against Jang.[14] [15] Later, Jang apologised for his remarks.[14] [15]
| Year | Constituency | Political party | Votes (%) | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Proportional (24th) | 6,069,744 (25.54%) | Not elected | ||
| 2020 | Dongdaemun 2nd | 55,230 (54.54%) | Won |