| Honorific Suffix: | MP |
| Native Name Lang: | ko |
| Birth Date: | 5 May 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Suncheon, South Jeolla, South Korea |
| Citizenship: | South Korean |
| Office1: | Member of the National Assembly |
| Constituency1: | Songpa 1st |
| Term Start1: | 30 May 2020 |
| Predecessor1: | Park In-sook |
| Party: | People Power |
| Otherparty: | NCP (2020) UFP (2020) |
| Alma Mater: | Seoul National University |
| Occupation: | Prosecutor, politician |
| Signature: | Kim Woong signature.svg |
Kim Woong (born 5 May 1970) is a South Korean prosecutor and politician. A member of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), he is the incumbent Member of the National Assembly for Songpa 1st constituency since 2020.
He joined politics as a member of the New Conservative Party (NCP), one of the predecessors to the PPP. Prior to entering politics, he was a vocal critic against the Moon Jae-in-led Democratic government's prosecution politics.
After qualifying for the bar in 1997, Kim started his career at Incheon District Prosecutor's Office in 2000.[1]
He was appointed the Head of Future Planning and Criminal Policy at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office by the former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il in July 2018.[2] When the Moon Jae-in-led Democratic government was considering an adjustment of investigation power between the police and the prosecution — removing the jurisdiction over investigation from the prosecution while providing a right to terminate an investigation to the police, Moon Moo-il harshly criticised it as "undemocratic".[2] Kim, who advocated Moon Moo-il's opinion, appeared on various media.[2] After Moon Moo-il was replaced by Yoon Seok-youl, Kim was shunted off to a professor at the Institute of Justice.[2] [3] Not only him, but also some other critics.[3]
On 13 January 2020, the National Assembly voted in favour of the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, and the Public Prosecutor's Office Act; the votes were boycotted by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).[4] Kim condemned the decision and submitted his resignation letter the following day.[5] [6] He urged the other prosecutors to "disobey those feudal orders, we are democratic citizens."[5] [6]
On 4 February 2020, Kim joined the New Conservative Party (NCP), a day after his resignation was accepted.[1] [7] [8] He was the first person brought into the party prior to the 2020 election.[1] [8] The day, he said, "I'm good at cracking crooks. I will crack the crook cartel at the zenith of this Republic of Crooks."[1] [8] He also mentioned that he is willing to cooperate with the LKP.[8]
The party was soon merged into the United Future Party (UFP).[9] Kim requested the party that he wanted to contest for Songpa 1st constituency, rather than as a proportional representation.[10] He was subsequently confirmed as the UFP candidate for the constituency,[11] after the then incumbent Park In-sook decided to not seek for re-election.[12] In the election, Kim successfully defeated the Democratic candidate Cho Jai-hee, although his party suffered a crushing defeat.[13] Among the 10 Suncheon-born MPs, Kim is the sole MP from the opposition, whereas 9 others are from the government.[14]
Following the outright victory of the People Power Party (PPP) in the 2021 by-elections, an opinion poll has shown that Kim is the 2nd most (11.3%) favourable candidate for the party presidency, next to Joo Ho-young (16.6%), prior to the upcoming party leadership election.[15] [16] Being a first-term MP, the outcome was described as "unexpected".[15] Several sources have suggested possibilities he will form an alliance with Kim Chong-in and Lee Jun-seok.[17] On 13 May, Kim officially made an announcement to run for the party leadership election.[18] [19] However, he was eliminated on 28 May.[20] [21] [22]
Kim was born in Suncheon, South Jeolla in 1970.[1] He attended Suncheon High School, and then studied politics at Seoul National University.[1] [7] He has an acquaintance with the former interim President of the Democratic Party Kim Tae-nyeon, who is a senior graduated from same high school.[23] [24]
He is the author of Diary of a Prosecutor, which was remade as a drama aired on JTBC.[1] [7] [2] [3]
He was exempted from the national service for undergoing a lobectomy.[25] [26]
He is a Roman Catholic.[27]