| Lee Baek-yun | |
| Native Name: | 이백윤 |
| Native Name Lang: | ko |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1977 |
| Birth Place: | Dongja-dong, Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea |
| Nationality: | South Korean |
| Alma Mater: | Chung-Ang University (expelled) |
| Occupation: | Activist, politician |
| Party: | Labour |
Lee Baek-yun (born 25 May 1977) is a South Korean activist and socialist politician. He was the Labour Party presidential candidate at the 2022 presidential election.
Lee was born in 1977 and grew up in Goheung, South Jeolla.[1] His father was a construction worker, and his mother used to work in various sectors, such as food caravan and restaurants.[1]
As a secondary student, he read books about the Gwangju Uprising, which motivated him to be an activist.[1] After graduation, he attended Chung-Ang University in 1996, where he studied Korean but was expelled.[1] [2] He led an occupy movement at the main building.[1]
After finishing national service, Lee did not return to university, but applied to Donghee Auto Co. Ltd., where Kia Morning was produced, in 2005.[1] [3] [4] As a temporary employee, he organised a trade union and fought for the rights of temporary workers.[3] He was, however, fired for not mentioning his university background on his résumé.[1] Another 21 employees that he worked with were also fired.[1] He launched a struggle against the company's decision to dismiss him and his colleagues (including Park Yong-jin),[5] which he claimed as "void".[1] He was arrested and jailed for a year.[6]
After being released from prison, Lee joined the Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party (SRWP), a left-wing unregistered political party.[1] He served as the SRWP South Chungcheong chairman.[1]
See main article: article and 2022 South Korean presidential election.
On 29 December 2021, Lee Baek-yun won Labour-SRWP unitary presidential primary, defeating Lee Gap-yong from the Labour Party.[7] He became the Labour presidential candidate after the SRWP was merged into the Labour.[8] His slogan is "Should we keep living like this? If you want to change, SOCIALISM."[3]