Kim Doo-kwan Korean: 김두관 | |
Office1: | Member of the National Assembly |
Term Start1: | 30 May 2016 |
Term End1: | 29 May 2024 |
Predecessor1: | Hong Chul-ho |
Successor1: | Kim Tae-ho |
Constituency1: | Gimpo A (2016-2020) Yangsan B (2020-2024) |
Office2: | Governor of South Gyeongsang Province |
Term Start2: | 1 July 2010 |
Term End2: | 6 July 2012 |
Predecessor2: | Kim Tae-ho |
Successor2: | Hong Jun-pyo |
Office3: | Minister of the Interior |
Term Start3: | 27 February 2003 |
Term End3: | 18 September 2003 |
President3: | Roh Moo-hyun |
Predecessor3: | Lee Keun-shik |
Successor3: | Huh Sung-kwan |
Birth Date: | 10 April 1959 |
Birth Place: | Namhae, South Korea |
Party: | Democratic Party of Korea |
Alma Mater: | Dong-A University |
Module: |
Kim Doo-kwan (Korean: 김두관, RR: Gim Du-gwan, Hanja: 金斗官; born 10 April 1959) is a South Korean Democratic Party politician, former civil servant, and former governor of South Gyeongsang Province. He was elected governor in the 2010 local elections as an independent after two previous unsuccessful attempts. He served as Minister for Home Affairs under the administration of Roh Moo-hyun, and at one point was seen as a potential contender for the DUP nomination in the 2012 presidential election.
Kim Doo-kwan was born in a village in Namhae on 10 April 1959. He studied at the Department of Political Diplomacy of Dong-A University, graduating in 1987.[3]
After serving as Secretary-General of the Namhae farmers' association from 1987, Kim was prefect of Namhae County in the 1990s. He failed in a bid to become governor of South Gyeongsang in 2002. In 2003, he was chosen as Minister for Government Administration and Home Affairs by Roh Moo-hyun, but on 3 September of that year the National Assembly voted to dismiss him. He unsuccessfully contested Namhae in the 2004 National Assembly elections for the Uri Party, winning 16.9% of the vote.[4] He subsequently lost a second attempt to become governor in 2006.
In the 2010 local elections, Kim won an upset victory in the South Gyeongsang gubernatorial election as an independent candidate, and took office as governor on 1 July 2010. Despite originally promising to maintain his independence, in February 2011 he joined the Democratic United Party.[5]
After the party's defeat in the 2012 parliamentary elections, Kim emerged as an alternative candidate for the DUP nomination for that year's presidential election,[6] though he had been considered as a potential frontrunner beforehand.[7] He has been termed the "little Roh Moo-hyun" on account of his unprivileged background and his principles.