Ha Tae-keung explained

Ha Tae-keung
Honorific Suffix:MP
Native Name Lang:ko
Birth Date:26 April 1968
Birth Place:East District, Busan, South Korea
Citizenship:South Korean
Office1:Member of the National Assembly
Constituency1:Busan Haeundae District 1st
Term Start1:30 May 2016
Predecessor1:Position established
Constituency2:Busan Haeundae District & Gijang County 2nd
Term Start2:30 May 2012
Term End2:29 May 2016
Predecessor2:Ahn Kyung-ryul
Successor2:Position abolished
Office3:President of the New Conservative Party
Term Start3:5 January 2020
Term End3:17 February 2020
Predecessor3:Position established
Successor3:Position abolished
Party:United Future/People Power (2020-present)
Alma Mater:Jilin University
Occupation:Activist, politician
Signature:Ha Tae-keung signature.svg

Ha Tae-keung (born 26 April 1968) is a South Korean activist and politician who is currently a member of National Assembly representing the 1st constituency of Haeundae District in Busan.[1] [2] He has served as Vice President of the Bareun Party,[1] [2] a Vice President of the Bareunmirae Party, and one of the co-Presidents of the New Conservative Party.[3]

Biography

Ha Tae-keung was born in Busan in 1968.[1] During the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, Ha was a pro-democracy activist.[2] During the early 1990s, he was a member of the National University Students Association (NUSA),[1] which also included members Lim Soo-kyung and Im Jong-seok. Ha was detained in 1991 on charges of breaching the National Security Act.[4] [2] He returned to his activist career after released in 1993.[5]

During the 2000s, Ha was interested in North Korean human rights, which he often did activism for.[6] [1] [2] In 2011, Ha received Human Rights Award of Korea.

Political career

In 2011, Ha joined the conservative Grand National Party (GNP),[6] and was elected as a National Assembly representative for the party, then known as the Saenuri Party, in the 2012 South Korean legislative election.[1] [2] He was re-elected in 2016.[1] [2]

During the political scandal in 2016, Ha left the Saenuri Party and became one of the founders of the Bareun Party along with other defectors from the Saenuri Party.[1] He ran for president of the Bareun Party in May 2017, but lost to Lee Hye-hoon. Instead, he was elected to the vice presidency. After Kim Se-yeon left the party, Ha became the party's sole Busan MP.[7]

In 2018, the Bareun Party merged with the People Party to become the Bareunmirae Party. Ha ran for president of the Bareunmirae Party during the September 2018 leadership election,[8] coming in 2nd place and losing to Sohn Hak-kyu. Ha instead became one of several Vice Presidents of the Bareunmirae Party.[9] [1] [2]

On 5 January 2020, Ha joined seven other representatives in defecting from the Bareunmirae Party to join the New Conservative Party. Upon his defection, Ha became one of the co-Presidents of the New Conservative Party until dissolved upon its unification with the Liberty Korea Party to form the United Future Party on 17 February 2020.

In 2020, Ha was re-elected as representative of the 1st constituency of Haeundae District in Busan, as a member of the United Future Party. The party changed its name to the People Power Party later in 2020.

On 11 June 2021, Ha announced his candidacy in the 2022 South Korean presidential election as a member of the People Power Party.[10]

Political positions

Ha is politically "centre-right"[11] who opposes extremist politics of both the far-left and the far-right. After the 2017 presidential election, he spoke in favor of the dissolving the "far-right" Liberty Korea Party (LKP) a similar manner to the 2014 banning of the "far-left" Unified Progressive Party (UPP).[12] Ha also condemned Bareun Party representatives who returned to the LKP.

Ha is an opponent of anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea, and criticized the anti-Japanese 2019 boycott of Japanese products in South Korea.[13]

Ha has received criticism for actions and remarks appearing to be populist,[14] such as remarks made in 2014 defending Ilbe Storehouse.[15]

Election results

General elections

Year Constituency Political party Votes (%) Result
Haeundae District & Gijang County 2nd 44.80% Won
Haeundae District 1st 51.75% Won
Haeundae District 1st 59.47% Won

References

  1. News: 2 September 2018. [프로필] 하태경 바른미래 최고위원…'사이다 정치' 재선]. 7 August 2019.
  2. News: 2 September 2018. [바른미래 최고위원 프로필] '유일한 PK' 하태경, 최고위원만 네 번째]. 7 August 2019.
  3. Web site: [21대 국회를 이끄는 사람들 {{!}} 미래통합당 하태경 당선인(부산 해운대갑)] "불공정 타파로 세대 벽 허물어야"]. 이. 재걸. Naeil Shinmun. 2020-05-31.
  4. News: 23 March 2012. [후보 분석] 6명 中 1명 軍 미필..새누리 '질병'-민주 '수형']. 7 August 2019.
  5. News: 15 July 2013. 새누리당은 종북뻐꾸기 하태경 의원을 즉각 제명하라!. 7 August 2019.
  6. News: 25 January 2012. N. Korean rights activist to run for Assembly. 7 August 2019.
  7. News: 9 January 2018. 하태경, 김세연 탈당에 "제가 PK 유일 바른정당 의원…마지막 자존심 지킬 것". 7 August 2019.
  8. News: 7 August 2019. 바른미래당 전당대회 현역 출마 러시… 손학규는 8일 출마선언. 7 August 2019.
  9. News: 2 September 2018. 바른미래당, 전당대회…손학규 신임 대표 선출. 7 August 2019.
  10. News: Park . Jin-hyeong . '이준석 열풍' 속 대권도전 하태경… "젊은 사람 용기 필요해" . 6 August 2021 . Gyeonggi Shinmun . June 11, 2021.
  11. News: 23 April 2018. From Prison to the President's Office: A Former Radical Helps Shape Korean Detente. 7 August 2019.
  12. News: 9 July 2017. 바른정당 토론회서 "종북몰이는 극우"…한국당 해산 주장도. 7 August 2019.
  13. News: 6 August 2019. 명동에 'No Japan'…하태경·이언주 "상인 죽일 셈이냐". 6 August 2019.
  14. Web site: Lee Hyung-Min. 하태경 "이 시대의 약자는 20·30 男…여성우대 법 손볼 것" . 23 January 2019. . 13 December 2019.
  15. Web site: Digital News Team. 9 September 2014 . 하태경 "일베 등 20대 우파들은 아직은 희망이 있다" . . 13 December 2019.

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