Kim Min-seok (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Min-seok
김민석
Kim in 2024
49th Prime Minister of South Korea
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 July 2025
President	Lee Jae-myung
Preceded by	Han Duck-soo Lee Ju-ho (acting)
Leader of the Democratic Party
In office 30 January 2016 – 31 October 2016 Serving with Park Joon-young until 14 March 2016
Preceded by	Kang Shin-sung
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of the National Assembly for Yeongdeungpo B
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 May 2020
Preceded by	Sin Kyŏng-min
In office 30 May 1996 – 27 May 2002
Preceded by	Rha Woong-bae
Succeeded by	Kwon Yeong-se
Personal details
Born	(1964-05-29) 29 May 1964 (age 61) Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Democratic (since 2016)
Other political affiliations	Little Democrats (1990–1991) Democratic (1991–1995) NCNP (1995–2000) MDP (2000–2002; 2003–2005) Democratic (2005–2007) UNDP (2007–2008) UDP (2008) Democratic (2008–2010) Democratic (K) (2014–2016)
Spouses	Kim Ja-young ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2014)​ Lee Tae-rin ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2
Education	Seoul National University (BA) Harvard University (MPA) Tsinghua University (JM) Rutgers University–Newark (JD)
Korean name
Hangul	Script error: No such module "ko-translit".
Hanja	金民錫
RR	Script error: No such module "ko-translit".
MR	Script error: No such module "ko-translit".

Kim Min-seok (Hangul: 김민석, born May 29, 1964) is a South Korean politician who was chosen to be the Prime Minister of South Korea in 2025. He has a long history as a lawmaker, serving as a member of the National Assembly for the Yeongdeungpo B area. He was first elected to this role from 1996 to 2002 and then returned to serve again starting in 2020.

Born in Seoul, Kim is highly educated, with degrees from famous universities like Seoul National University, Harvard University, Tsinghua University, and Rutgers University. As a young man, he was a student activist who participated in pro-democracy movements.

He was first elected to the National Assembly in 1996 and was seen as a rising star in his political party. However, after he lost the election for Mayor of Seoul in 2002, his popularity went down. After many years, Kim made a political comeback by winning the 2020 election, returning to the National Assembly after 18 years. He is also an advisor to President Lee Jae-myung.

Early Life and Education

Kim Min-seok was born in Seoul in 1964. He was the youngest of three children. His oldest brother, Kim Min-woong, is a pastor in the United States. His second oldest brother, Kim Min-hwa, sadly passed away in a car accident in 1987.

He went to Soongsil High School and later studied sociology at Seoul National University. While in college, Kim became a student leader. In 1985, he was elected President of the Student Council. During this time, he led student protests calling for more democracy in South Korea. For his role in these protests, he was arrested but was later released in 1988 by the new president, Roh Tae-woo.

His mother, Kim Choon-ok, was also inspired to act. She started a pro-democracy group called the Council for the Movement of Families for the Fulfillment of Democracy. During this period, Kim Min-seok became close with Kim Dae-jung, who would later become the president of South Korea.

After his time as a student activist, Kim continued his education. He earned a law degree from Tsinghua University in China in 2010.

Beginning a Career in Politics

Kim Min-seok started his political career in 1990. He joined the Democratic Party, which was a smaller party at the time. A year later, his party merged with another, and he found himself in the same party as his mentor, Kim Dae-jung.

In 1992, he ran for a seat in the National Assembly for the Yeongdeungpo area of Seoul. It was a very close race, but he lost by only 260 votes. After this, Kim moved to the United States to study at Harvard University, where he earned a Master of Public Administration degree. He returned to South Korea in 1995 to help his party in the local elections.

First Term in the National Assembly

In the 1996 election, Kim ran for the National Assembly again. This time, he won and defeated a famous actor who was his opponent. At just 32 years old, he was the youngest person elected to the National Assembly that year.

He quickly became famous during a 1997 hearing about a large company called the Hanbo Group. The company was involved in a corruption scandal. Kim asked the company's leader many tough questions. Although the leader didn't answer, Kim proved that his statements were not truthful. This earned him the nickname "The Hearing Star."

Kim Min-seok in an advertisement from 1999.

By the late 1990s, Kim was recognized as a future leader. Asiaweek, a news magazine, named him one of the "20 Asian Youth Leader of the Millennium" in 1999. In 2000, the World Economic Forum also chose him as one of the "100 Global Leaders in 2000." He was easily re-elected to the National Assembly in the 2000 election.

2002 Seoul Mayoral Election

By 2002, Kim was very popular and many thought he could one day be president. However, the law required presidential candidates to be at least 40 years old, and he was only 38. So, he decided to run for Mayor of Seoul instead.

His party, the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), chose him as their candidate. He ran with slogans like "The new era needs a new leader." He promised to make Seoul a greener city by using natural gas buses and controlling air pollution.

Kim's main opponent was Lee Myung-bak from the Grand National Party, who later became president. At first, the race was very close. However, on election day, Kim lost, receiving 43% of the vote compared to Lee's 52%.

A few months later, Kim made a decision that surprised many people. He announced he would no longer support his party's presidential candidate, Roh Moo-hyun, and would instead support a different candidate, Chung Mong-joon. This move was very unpopular, and he later said in an interview that he regretted his decision.

A Political Comeback

After the 2002 election, Kim's political career faced some difficulties. He stepped away from major political roles for several years. During this time, he focused on his studies and worked with smaller political groups.

In 2014, he joined a new party as a consultant. By 2016, he was elected co-leader of that party. Later that year, his party merged with the main Democratic Party of Korea.

Return to the National Assembly

In 2020, Kim announced he would run for the National Assembly again in his old district of Yeongdeungpo. He said it was important for him to restart his career in his "home" district. He won his party's nomination, defeating the current lawmaker.

During the campaign, he promised to improve the local area. On election day, the first results from exit polls suggested he might lose. However, when all the votes were counted, Kim had won with 50.2% of the vote. This marked his official return to the National Assembly after being away for 18 years.

Premiership (2025–present)

Premiership of Kim Min-seok
3 July 2025 – present
President	Lee Jae Myung
Cabinet	Full list
Party	Democratic
Seat	Sejong City
← Han Duck-soo (2nd) Lee Ju-ho (acting) •

After Lee Jae-myung won the presidential election, he chose Kim Min-seok to be the new Prime Minister of South Korea. For Kim to officially take the job, his nomination had to be approved by the National Assembly.

The lawmakers held hearings to ask him questions on June 24 and 25, 2025. On July 3, 2025, the National Assembly voted to approve his nomination. The final vote was 173 to 3.

Personal Life

Kim Min-seok was first married in 1993 to Kim Ja-young, a newsreader. They had a son and a daughter together. Their marriage ended in 2014.

In 2019, Kim announced on his Facebook page that he was getting married again. He married Lee Tae-rin in December of that year.

Election Results

General Elections

Local Elections

Mayor of Seoul

See also

In Spanish: Kim Min-seok para niños