| Seongbuk B | |
| Type: | Single-member |
| Parl Name: | National Assembly |
| District Label: | District(s) |
| Region Label: | Region |
| Region: | Seoul |
| Electorate: | 180,743 |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Elects Howmany: | 1 |
| Seats: | 1 |
| Party Label: | Party |
| Party: | Democratic Party |
| Member: | Kim Nam-geun |
| Previous: | Seongbuk |
Seongbuk B is a constituency of the National Assembly of South Korea. The constituency consists of portions of Seongbuk District, Seoul. As of 2020, 180,743 eligible voters were registered in the constituency. The constituency was created in 1988 from the Seongbuk constituency.
Throughout its history, Seongbuk B has consistently elected members of centre-left, liberal parties to represent the constituency except for in the 1996 and 2008 South Korean legislative election, thus it is widely considered a safe district for the Democratic Party.[1] [2] Cho Yoon-hyung of the centrist-liberal Peace Democratic Party was the first member to represent the constituency.[3] He was succeeded by Shin Gye-ryun of the centre-left Democratic Party, who won the constituency in the 1992 election. Shin's re-election bid in 1996 was unsuccessful, as he lost to Kang Sung-jae of the conservative New Korea Party.[4] In the subsequent legislative election held in 2000, Shin won the constituency as a member of the liberal Millennium Democratic Party, beating out incumbent Kang Sung-jae in a return match.[5] Shin left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 to join the Uri Party led by then President Roh Moo-hyun.[6]
Prior to the 2004 legislative election, Shin had been under investigation for by South Korea's Supreme Prosecutor's Office for allegedly receiving illegal political campaign funds amounting to 300 million won.[7] [8] [9] Despite the ongoing investigation, he successfully won re-election.[10] However, Shin lost his seat in the National Assembly on February 10, 2006, for being sentenced to eight months in prison and two years of probation after he was found guilty of receiving illegal campaign funds.[11] [12] A by-election for the constituency was held on July 26, 2006, with Cho Soon-hyung of the liberal Democratic Party winning the election.[13] [14]
Kim Hyo-jae of the Grand National Party won the constituency in 2008, marking the last time a conservative, centre-right party won in Seongbuk B. The constituency's former member Shin Gye-ryun ran as an independent and came in second place, garnering 29% of the vote.[15] In the following election held in 2012, Shin Gye-ryun ran as a member of the liberal Democratic United Party and won the election with 53.98% of the vote; returning as member of the National Assembly for Seongbuk B.[16] [17] However, in 2015, Shin was subject to another political scandal regarding legislation lobbying for the Seoul Arts College.[18]
The Democratic Party nominated former Deputy Mayor of Seoul Ki Dong-min for the constituency in the 2016 legislative election. In the general election, Ki defeated former member for Seongbuk B Kim Hyo-jae of the Saenuri Party.[19] Ki won re-election in 2020, defeating Jung Tae-geun of the United Future Party by more than twenty points.[20]
The constituency encompasses the neighborhoods of Donam 1-dong, Gireum 2-dong, Jongam-dong, Jangwi-dong, Hawolgok-dong, and Sangwolgok-dong.
| Election | Member | Party | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Cho Yoon-hyung | Peace Democratic | 1988–1992 | Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (1990–1992) | |
| 1992 | Shin Gye-ryun | Democratic | 1992–1996 | ||
| 1996 | Kang Sung-jae | New Korea | 1996–2000 | ||
| 2000 | Shin Gye-ryun | Millennium Democratic | 2000–2006 | Deputy Mayor of Seoul (1998–1999)Lost seat on February 10, 2006, for receiving illegal political campaign funds | |
| 2004 | Uri | ||||
| 2006 by-election | Cho Soon-hyung | Democratic[21] | 2006–2008 | ||
| 2008 | Kim Hyo-jae | Grand National | 2008–2012 | ||
| 2012 | Shin Gye-ryun | Democratic United | 2012–2016 | ||
| 2016 | Ki Dong-min | Democratic | 2016–2024 | Deputy Mayor of Seoul (2012–2014) | |
| 2020 | |||||
| 2024 | Kim Nam-geun | 2024–present | |||