Sim Sang-jung | |
---|---|
심상정 | |
Leader of the Justice Party | |
Assumed office 18 July 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Cheon Ho-sun |
Member of the National Assembly | |
Assumed office 30 May 2012 |
|
Preceded by | Son Beom Gyu |
Constituency | Gyeonggi Goyang A |
In office 30 May 2004 – 29 May 2008 |
|
Constituency | Proportional representation |
Personal details | |
Born |
Paju, South Korea |
20 February 1959
Political party |
Democratic Labor (2000-2008) New Progressive (2008-2011) Unified Progressive (2011–2012) Justice (2012–present) |
Spouse(s) | Lee Seung-bae |
Alma mater | Seoul National University |
Religion | Lapsed Catholic |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 심상정 |
---|---|
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Sim Sangjeong |
McCune–Reischauer | Sim Sangjŏng |
Sim Sang-jung (born February 20, 1959) is a South Korean politician. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee.
She is currently a member of the 20th National Assembly and the leader of the minor progressive, leftist Justice Party.
Sim obtained her bachelor's degree in education from Seoul National University.
At the age of 21, she worked at a cassette tape factory where her days as a labor rights activist began. Sim was subsequently fired for mobilizing workers to demand higher wages and better meals. She "hopped from job to job" to earn a wage but continued her labor activism. In 1985, she was on the country's most wanted list for instigating labor strikes.
Sim is a major political leader for the left progressive faction in South Korean politics. She is a three-term lawmaker in the National Assembly, former leader of the Democratic Labor Party, the former co-founder of the New Progressive Party, and the former co-founder and leader of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP).
Sim was first elected as a proportional representative in the 17th National Assembly under the Democratic Labor Party. She won her first direct election in the 19th National Assembly as a member of the UPP with 49.37% of the votes in an area of Gyeonggi Goyang in 2012.