Kim Jinai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Jinai
김진애
Floor leader of Open Democratic Party
In office 30 May 2020 – 8 March 2021
Preceded by	position created
Member of the National Assembly
In office 30 May 2020 – 23 March 2021
Constituency	Proportional representation
In office November 2009 – 29 May 2012
Constituency	Proportional representation
Personal details
Born	(1953-02-19) 19 February 1953 (age 72) Siheung, South Korea
Political party	Open Democratic Party
Alma mater	Seoul National University MIT

Kim Jinai (Hangul: 김진애; Hanja: 金鎭愛; born February 16, 1953), also known as Kim Jin-ae, is a South Korean urban engineer and politician. An urban engineer helps design and plan cities. She has worked on many important projects to improve cities in South Korea.

About Kim Jinai

Kim Jinai has a strong background in architecture and urban planning. She studied at Seoul National University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1971, she was the only woman accepted into the College of Engineering at Seoul National University.

Her Work as an Urban Planner

After finishing her studies at MIT, Kim Jinai worked on several big urban planning projects. She helped create Sanbon Newtown, which is a new city near Seoul. She also helped redesign Insa-dong, a famous cultural area in Seoul. She gave advice to the government on many construction projects, including Sejong City. Sejong City was built to be a new administrative capital for South Korea.

Her Political Career

Kim Jinai became a member of the National Assembly in November 2009. The National Assembly is like the parliament or congress in other countries. It is where laws are made. One of her most well-known actions as a lawmaker was highlighting issues with the "Four Major River project." This was a large government project to manage rivers.

In 2020, Kim Jinai was elected to the National Assembly again. She became the floor leader for her party, the Open Democratic Party. This means she was a main leader for her party in the Assembly. In December 2020, she announced she wanted to become the mayor of Seoul, the capital city. To focus on her campaign, she resigned from the National Assembly in March 2021. She later supported another candidate for mayor.

Education and Teaching

Kim Jinai has three degrees in architecture and urban planning. She earned her bachelor's degree from Seoul National University. She received her master's and doctorate degrees from MIT. She also taught as a visiting professor at Ewha Womans University and as an adjunct professor at KAIST.

Awards and Recognition

Kim Jinai has received important awards for her work.

• She received the Order of Civil Merit from the South Korean government in 1998. This award recognizes people who have done great things for their country.
• In 1994, she was named one of Time magazine's Global 100 Roster of Young Leaders for the New Millennium. This recognized her as a promising young leader.