Kim Young-jin

Kim Young-jin (, born 17 November 1947) is a South Korean activist and former politician. He was a five-term National Assembly member, and briefly served as the Minister of Agriculture in 2003.

Early history Kim was born in Gangjin, South Jeolla, United States Army Military Government in Korea on 17 November 1947, where he was raised by a family of farmers. During this protest, Kim held a sign that read "nihon wa hansei shiru" (日本は反省しる), demanding Japan to reflect on their actions. However, this sign had a typo as shiru (しる) was meant to be shiro (しろ), which caused the typo to become an internet meme amongst 2channel users.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (2003) In 2003, Kim resigned from his fourth term in the National Assembly, upon being appointed as the 53rd Minister of Agriculture and Forestry by President Roh Moo-hyun on 27 February 2003, where he was first tasked with handling a free trade agreement between Chile and South Korea. Later that year, Kim submitted his resignation on 21 July 2003 as a response to the Seoul Administrative Court halting the contentious Saemangeum Reclamation Project.

Kim would attempt to campaign for the 17th National Assembly in 2004, but was defeated by the Uri Party candidate .

National Assembly (2008–2012) Kim was re-elected to the 18th National Assembly in 2008. During his tenure, Kim played a key role in having the Gwangju Uprising added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.

In 2012, Kim was eliminated from Democratic United Party nomination before the general election. Kim briefly considered running as an independent, criticizing the process, but refused to spoil the vote and retired from politics.

Electoral history