| Yeongdeungpo A | |
| Type: | Single-member |
| Parl Name: | National Assembly |
| District Label: | District(s) |
| Region Label: | Region |
| Region: | Seoul |
| Electorate: | 187,997 |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Elects Howmany: | 1 |
| Seats: | 1 |
| Party Label: | Party |
| Party: | Democratic Party |
| Member: | Chae Hyeon-il |
| Previous: | Yeongdeungpo |
Yeongdeungpo A is a constituency of the National Assembly of South Korea. The constituency consists of portions of Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. As of 2020, 187,997 eligible voters were registered in the constituency. The constituency was created in 1988 from the Yeongdeungpo constituency.
Throughout its history, Yeongdeungpo A has voted for members of both liberal and conservative parties, however the liberal Democratic Party's dominance in recent elections has made it a safe district for the Democratic Party in recent years.[1] Chang Suk-hwa of the centrist-liberal Reunification Democratic Party was the first member to represent the constituency, and won re-election in 1992. However, he was defeated by the conservative New Korea Party's Kim Myung-seop in 1996. Kim won re-election in 2000 as a member of the liberal Millennium Democratic Party. He was succeeded by Ko Jin-hwa of the conservative Grand National Party, who won in the 2004 election.
In the course of the 2008 South Korean legislative election, incumbent Ko Jin-hwa, a moderate member of the Grand National Party was not nominated for re-election in the Yeongdeungpo A constituency. Jeon Yeo-ok, a staunch conservative considered to be a member of the party's right-wing, was nominated in the constituency instead.[2] Jeon went on to win the constituency in 2008. Jeon left the Saneuri Party (successor to the Grand National Party) ahead of the 2012 legislative election after losing the party's nomination for the constituency to Park Sun-kyu.[3] [4] However, Kim Young-joo of the liberal Democratic United Party won the general election, defeating Park Sun-kyu by more than 7 points.[5] Kim won re-election in 2016[6] and 2020, widening her margin of victory to 18 points.[7] [8]
Kim Young-joo left the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 South Korean legislative election,[9] [10] citing that she felt belittled and humiliated by the party's leadership after she was informed that her performance in the National Assembly was evaluated as "among the bottom 20 percent" by the party.[11] She officially joined the ruling conservative People Power Party on March 4, 2024.[12] She subsequently ran as the People Power Party candidate for Yeongdeungpo A in the 2024 legislative election, but was defeated by Chae Hyeon-il of the Democratic Party.[13] [14]
The constituency encompasses the neighborhoods of Singil 3-dong, Dangsan 1-dong, Dangsan 2-dong, Yangpyeong 1-dong, Yangpyeong 2-dong, Yeongdeungpo-dong, Dorim-dong, and Mullae-dong.
| Election | Member | Party | Dates | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Chang Suk-hwa | Reunification Democratic | 1988–1996 | |||
| 1992 | Democratic | |||||
| 1996 | Kim Myung-seop | New Korea | 1996–2004 | Left the Millennium Democratic Party on November 1, 2002, rejoined on November 16, 2002[15] Joined the Uri Party in 2003 | ||
| 2000 | Millennium Democratic | |||||
| 2004 | Ko Jin-hwa | Grand National | 2004–2008 | |||
| 2008 | Jeon Yeo-ok | 2008–2012 | Left the Saenuri Party and joined the Korea Vision Party on March 9, 2012[16] | |||
| 2012 | Kim Young-joo | Democratic United | 2012–2024 | Minister of Employment and Labor (2017–2018)Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (2022–present) Left the Democratic Party on February 19, 2024 Joined the People Power Party on March 4, 2024 | ||
| 2016 | Democratic | |||||
| 2020 | ||||||
| 2024 | Chae Hyeon-il | Democratic | 2024–present | |||