Kwon Young-jin
권영진
Mayor of Daegu
In office
1 July 2014 – 30 June 2022
Preceded byKim Bum-il
Succeeded byHong Joon-pyo
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 2008 – 29 May 2012
Preceded byWoo Won-shik
Succeeded byWoo Won-shik
ConstituencyNowon B (Seoul)
Personal details
Born (1962-12-10) 10 December 1962
Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Political partyUnited Future Party
Alma materKorea University
WebsiteKwon Young-jin's Blog
Korean name
Hangul
권영진
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGwon Yeongjin
McCune–ReischauerKwŏn Yŏngjin

Kwon Young-jin (Korean: 권영진; Hanja: 權泳臻; born 10 December 1962) is a South Korean politician who served as the mayor of Daegu between 2014 and 2022.

Life

Kwon Young-jin was born on December 10, 1962, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.

In 2002, Kwon entered politics on the recommendation of the President of the Grand National Party Lee Hoi-chang. In 2004, he led the way "Tent headquarters movement" of the Grand National Party.

In 2007 presidential election, Kwon supported Lee Myung-bak. And he ran for the 2008 legislative election for Nowon District, Seoul and he won over the Woo Won-shik of the United Democratic Party. However, he lost to Woo Won-shik in the 2012 legislative election.

Kwon ran for mayor of Daegu in the 2014 local elections and won. And in 2018, he was re-elected despite his party (Liberty Korea Party)'s poor approval rating. He put up the city government's slogan is "Only Citizens' Happiness, Creating Daegu."[1][2]

In 2021, Kwon gained international attention during the COVID-19 pandemic when he propagated a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine proposal to South Korean news media. Mayor Kwon announced to reporters in May 2021 that his city, via a public-private partnership focused on unifying medical care throughout Daegu,[3] was in talks with a foreign trading company to obtain 30 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine independently from the central government (headed by Moon Jae-in's opposition party).[4] Following this media event, Kwon's office sent South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare import proposal drafts between the public-private partnership, Medi-City Daegu Council, and the foreign trading company. It raised concerns about the deal, citing "reliability issues" due to Pfizer only supplying its vaccines through central governments and international health organizations, not through unaffiliated intermediaries.[5] Kwon has since apologized for giving credence to the fraudulent vaccine distribution scam.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "권영진 대구시장 당선자, 그는 누구인가?...그가 걸어온 길". 국제뉴스 (Gukjenews) (in Korean). 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  2. ↑ "<광역단체장 인터뷰 / 권영진 대구광역시장> "대구는 더이상 수구꼴통도시 아닌 열린도시"". 내일신문 (in Korean). 2018-07-09. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  3. ↑ "10 Years of Trust, the Impetus for Overcoming COVID-19". 헬스경향 (in Korean). 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  4. ↑ "Daegu mayor apologizes for controversial bid to import Pfizer vaccines". m.koreaherald.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  5. ↑ "South Korean mayor 'sorry' for falling for vaccine scam". BBC News. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (8 June 2021). "Coronavirus: South Korean mayor who boasted of securing 30 million vaccines apologises for nearly falling for fraud". Associated Press.
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