[21st National Assembly New Figure] Former KakaoBank CEO Lee Yong-woo "I will eliminate regulations that do not fit the digital era"

Lee Yong-woo, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Goyang-jeong), is announcing his victory speech at the Ilsan campaign office in Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 16th.
Photo by Lee Yong-woo

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-young Hwang] Among the 300 elected members of the 21st National Assembly, 151 are first-term lawmakers entering the Assembly for the first time. More than half of the total seats in the National Assembly are filled with new faces. We are starting the ‘21st National Assembly New Faces’ series to introduce the first-term lawmakers of the 21st National Assembly and share their aspirations.

"There are many regulations that do not fit the digital era. I will remove those."

Lee Yong-woo, elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gyeonggi Goyang-jeong), said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 23rd, when asked about what he wants to do as a lawmaker, "Necessary regulations should be enforced, and unnecessary ones should be eliminated."

Regarding regulations that need to be strengthened, Lee answered, "Regulations related to environment, safety, and consumer protection."

Lee ran in Gyeonggi Goyang-jeong, where Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi did not run, and was elected by defeating Kim Hyun-ah, a real estate expert and candidate from the United Future Party, with 85,943 votes (53.4%) to 72,188 votes (44.8%).

Although there were many predictions that the election would be difficult due to rising dissatisfaction among Ilsan residents caused by the government's 3rd New Town project, Lee won by a margin of 13,755 votes.

When asked about the reason for winning by a relatively large margin, Lee said, "During the campaign, I talked a lot about what Ilsan should do in the future and how to develop Ilsan," adding, "Many people sympathized with my vision that Ilsan should not be a bedroom town but a city harmonized with the 4th industrial revolution."

Lee, a former co-CEO of KakaoBank, joined the Democratic Party as the 7th talent recruit for the general election in January.

At that time, he made headlines for giving up 520,000 stock options of KakaoBank.

Regarding his reason for giving up stock options worth around 10 billion KRW to join the party, he said, "Social offerings are offerings, and politics is dedication. The opportunity to serve is more precious."

Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, he attended elementary, middle, and high school in Busan.

He graduated from Busan Gaya High School and earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in economics from Seoul National University.

After joining Hyundai Economic Research Institute in 1992, he worked at Hyundai Group’s General Planning Office, served as Managing Director (Head of Strategic Planning Office) at Dongwon Securities, Head of Asset Management at Korea Investment & Securities, and Chief Investment Officer at Korea Investment Trust Management.

Lee said, "I want to utilize my major and work on the Political Affairs Committee or the Planning and Finance Committee," adding, "I want to handle bills related to financial supervision and laws protecting financial consumers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.