Chris Nam
Born(1954-06-10)10 June 1954
Uiseong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
Died20 March 2021(2021-03-20) (aged 66)
NationalitySouth Korea
(Formerly United States)
EducationKonkuk University (B.A., M.A.)
Known forFounder of New Star Realty
Korean name
Hangul
남문기
Hanja
南文基
Revised RomanizationNam Mun-gi
McCune–ReischauerNam Mun'gi
Websitenammoonkey.com

Chris Moonkey Nam (10 June 1954 – 20 March 2021[1]) was a South Korean businessman and past Korean American community leader. A former citizen of the United States by naturalisation, he renounced U.S. citizenship in 2011 in order to pursue his political ambitions in his country of birth.

Early life and career

Nam was born in Uiseong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in public administration from Konkuk University, and also spent two years working for Korea Housing & Commercial Bank (한국주택은행, now part of KB Kookmin Bank). He moved to the United States in 1982, settling in Southern California. There, he founded New Star Realty in 1988; New Star would grow to become the largest real estate agency catering to the Korean American community.[2] He also served as head of the Korean-American Federation of Los Angeles and the Korean-American Chamber of Commerce.[3]

Federation of Korean Associations, USA

In May 2009, Nam was elected as the 23rd president of the Federation of Korean Associations, USA.[4] Among other activities as president, he spoke out in favour of efforts to raise voter turnout among South Koreans in the United States, noting that while there might be as many as 900,000 potential voters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area alone, there was only one polling place, which could take as much as two hours' travel for some voters to reach.[5]

Grand National Party

In July 2011, Nam was chosen by Hong Jun-pyo of the Grand National Party (now the Saenuri Party) as the head of the party's Overseas Korean Committee (재외국민위원). This position required him to be a South Korean citizen and not hold any foreign citizenships; however, he was unable to give up his U.S. citizenship by the deadline a month after he had been named to the position, and so his nomination was cancelled.[6] His appointment with the U.S. embassy in Seoul to renounce citizenship was held in September.[3] His renunciation was confirmed by a notice in the Federal Register in July 2012.[7]

Honours and awards

In August 2009, Nam was invited to speak at the graduation ceremony of his alma mater Konkuk University, and on the occasion was awarded an honorary doctorate in politics.[8]

References

  1. ↑ (부고) 남문기 뉴스타 회장 별세.. 향년 67세 (in Korean)
  2. ↑ Koo Mi-hwa (April 2006). "미국 최대 한인 부동산 그룹 CEO 남문기". The Dong-A Ilbo Weekly Magazine (559): 414–423. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 "남문기씨 '미 시민권 곧 포기'; 한나라 재외국민위 자문위원장에 임명". Korea Daily. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "미주총연 신임회장에 남문기씨 당선". Maeil Business Newspaper. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Kim Dong-ryeol (20 June 2011). "남문기 미주한인회장 '재외국민 투표율 5% 안될 것'". Jaegyeong Ilbo. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Kim Yeong-ryeol (12 August 2011). "한나라당, 남문기 재외국민위원장 '임명 취소'". ASEAN Today. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  7. ↑ Ann V. Gaudelli, Internal Revenue Service (27 July 2012). "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G". Federal Register. 77 (145): 44310–44311. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "미주총련 남문기 회장 건국대서 명예박사". The Hankyoreh. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
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