Lee Sang-kyu

Lee Sang-kyu (, born 7 January 1965) is a South Korean activist, labourer and politician. He was the Permanent President of the Minjung Party, a minor left-wing nationalist political party. He was elected as the Member of National Assembly for Gwanak 2nd constituency in 2012 but invalidated by court order in 2014.

Early life Born in Jecheon, Lee attended Yongmoon High School, Following the graduation, he became a labourer,

At the 2012 election, both the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) agreed to put unity candidates in some constituencies, including Gwanak 2nd. Originally, Lee Jung-hee, one of the co-Presidents of the UPP, won the opposition preselection over Kim Hui-chul, the DUP candidate and the incumbent MP. However, Kim subsequently left DUP and ran as an independent candidate, citing that the preselection was rigged. Lee Jung-hee was forced to withdraw, making Lee Sang-kyu to replace her. He received 38.24%, defeating Oh Shin-hwan (Saenuri) and Kim Hui-chul (Independent).

The UPP was banned by the court order on 19 December 2014, in which the elections of its all MPs were nullified. Lee announced his bid as an independent candidate at the 2015 by-election, but then withdrew. In the end, the Saenuri candidate Oh Shin-hwan, who lost to Lee in 2012, was finally elected, making him as the first conservative candidate of the liberal-leaning constituency since its creation in 1988.

Prior to the 2016 election, Lee joined the People's United Party (PUP, then Minjung Party), a minor left-wing party formed by several notable ex-UPP members. He was selected as the PUP's MP candidate for Gwanak 2nd, but ended up with 1.91%. After that, he shortly left politics and worked as a plumber, till returned to help the party's presidential candidate Kim Sun-dong at the 2017 presidential election. In fact, he showed his intention to run in 2010 but endorsed Han Myeong-sook. He lost to Kim Jin-sook in preselection.

Controversy On 22 May 2012, Lee was questioned by an audience in MBC 100 Minutes Debate, to explain his position and opinion about the issues regarding North Korea i.e. human rights and nuclear. He replied that the question has a problem, adding that people should look the exact appearance of the country. This was criticised by Chin Jung-kwon, saying "All politicians should ensure their ideologies and orientations to the voters. Otherwise, he or she is not supposed to take any duties."

Personal life Lee married to Kim Hyang-soo, who is 15 years younger than him. Both have 3 children.

Election results General elections Year Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2008 PR (8th) DLP 973,445 (5.70%) Not elected 2010 Eunpyeong 2nd DLP Withdrawn 2012 Gwanak 2nd UPP 43,158 (38.24%) Won 2015 Gwanak 2nd Independent Withdrawn 2016 Gwanak 2nd PUP 2,354 (1.91%) Defeated 2020 PR (4th) Minjung 295,612 (1.05%) Not elected

Local elections Guro District Council Year Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 1995 Sindorim-dong Independent 2,484 (43.12%) Defeated

Seoul Metropolitan Council Year Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2002 Guro 2nd DLP 3,369 (8.01%) Defeated