Lee Nak-yon, also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who was the 41stPrime Minister of South Korea. He is also the longest serving prime minister of South Korea since the Constitution of South Korea was last revised in 1987. He previously served as the governor of Jeollanam-do province, a stronghold of his party. Before serving as governor, he worked as a journalist for the Dong-a Ilbo and served as a member of the National Assembly for four terms. Lee was chosen for the position of Prime Minister by Moon in order to appease other factions within the Democratic Party. During his tenure as Prime Minister, Lee became well-known for his forceful exchanges with opposition party leaders and adeptness at communicating with citizens. Prior to and following his victory in the crucial Jongno district in the 2020 legislative election against conservative Hwang Kyo-ahn, another probable presidential candidate, he has been said to be a favorite in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.
He entered politics in 2000 "based on his ties with former PresidentKim Dae-jung he formed while covering politics." Following his departure from the Dong-a Ilbo he was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2000 and served for four terms. He also served as a spokesman for former President Roh Moo-hyun when he was the president-elect in 2002. He left office in the middle of his fourth term in 2014 to successfully run for governor of South Jeolla Province.
Prime Minister
On May 10, 2017, he was nominated by President Moon Jae-in to be the next Prime Minister of South Korea, succeeding Hwang Kyo-ahn. He left office as governor of the South Jeolla Province on the same day. He is seen as having close ties with key Japanese politicians, having served many years as a senior officer in the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union. Lee speaks fluent Japanese. On June 25, Prime Minister Lee urged North Korea to release their prisoners. On July 27, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who is known to be knowledgeable about Japan, criticized the accord regarding ‘comfort women’. On August 16, Lee reacted negatively to calls for South Korea to possess nuclear weapons, saying the move would undermine Seoul's calls for North Korea to denuclearize, trigger a nuclear arms race and put the country under international sanctions. Reflecting such calls, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party adopted a demand for the redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms as its official party line during a general meeting of its lawmakers. On November 29, Lee raised concerns that cryptocurrencies were corrupting the youth of South Korea, remarking “There are cases in which young Koreans including students are jumping in to make quick money and virtual currencies are used in illegal activities like drug dealing or multi-level marketing for frauds”.
Post-PM career
In 2020 election, Lee stood for Jongno constituency and defeated the UFP President Hwang Kyo-ahn. In July 2020 Lee announced his campaign for the leader of his party, Democratic Party, highlighting his experiences dealing with "crises" that are much needed in transitioning into post-covid 19 era. If elected, Lee is likely to serve as party leader for 7 months - less than a half of its fixed tenure - following the party rule that mandates party's presidential candidate to resign from party leadership. In this regards, Lee stressed his passion for his calling to be the party leader that he will work like a "flame" during these period.
