Oh Shin-hwan is a South Korean former actor and conservative politician. Starting his career as an obscure actor in 1990s, he was elected as a Member of National Assembly for Gwanak 2nd constituency at the 2015 by-election, making him as the first conservative MP of the liberal-leaning constituency since its creation in 1988.
Oh had been acting in some university plays since 1989, while he was studying at Konkuk University. He joined Yeonwoo Stage in 1991, then subsequently appeared to Ride Together, which was adapted from a drama of Ham Se-dŏk. After his admission to K-ARTS in 1994, he continued his acting in Marionette Show, The Story of Park Ki-hong, Mud and so on. During this period, he worked with Song Kang-ho; a source reported that both used to share a house. Other than plays, Oh played supporting roles in independent films, including Yellow Flower and A Woman Off Her Uniform. Before admitting to politics, Oh served as the director of Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culutre.
Political career
Oh joined the Grand National Party in 2006, and ran as a Seoul Metropolitan Council member for Gwanak 1st constituency at the local elections. He received 43.75% and won, making him as the youngest person holds the position. In 2010, he was chosen as the GNP candidate for Mayor of Gwanak but lost to Yoo Jong-pil. In 2012, he was the Saenuri's MP candidate for Gwanak 2nd constituency but defeated by the opposition alliance candidate Lee Sang-kyu. Following the defeat, he worked for Park Geun-hye, the Saenuri's presidential candidate who won in the same year, as well as the party's youth wing. The election of Lee Sang-kyu was annulled due to the UPP's ban in December 2014, which brought a by-election in 2015. Oh won the Saenuri preselection, defeating the former candidate Kim Cheol-soo. On 29 April, he gained 43.89% and defeated Chung Tae-ho and Chung Dong-young. The result became a sensation, as the constituency was known as liberal-leaning where conservatives did not win since the creation in 1988. Nevertheless, some analyses showed that he could lose if non-conservatives put a unity candidate. Oh was re-elected in 2016, where his party faced a shock defeat. He was then appointed as the party's deputy parliamentary leader, but left the party after the political scandal in October. He then joined Bareun Party, the splinter group formed by Saenuri's dissidents. On 22 December 2017, he was elected as the party's parliamentary leader and held the position till the party was merged into Bareunmirae Party in 2018. After Sohn Hak-kyuwas elected as the Bareunmirae's President, Oh was appointed as the Secretary-General. Soon, the party was split due to the conflicts regarding the electoral reform and the installation of the Office of Crime Investigation for Senior Public Officials. This occurred the resignation of Kim Kwan-young, the party's parliamentary leader who faced public criticisms. Oh succeeded the position on 15 May, defeating Kim Sung-sick. Analyses showed that Kim failed to get supports from the former People's Party MPs, though Kim has a background of PP. Following the long conflicts with Sohn, Oh joined the party's dissident group, Emergency Action for Change and Innovation, led by the party's ex-co-President Yoo Seong-min. However, Yoo stood down as the group leader due to the controversy, made Oh to replace the presidency. All group members were later suspended from the party, as well as Oh, who was also sacked from the parliamentary leader.
Controversy
During the 2015 by-election, it was reported that Oh's master's degree from Korea University was revoked due to the thesis plagiarism, which he forgot to write the references. He mentioned that his degree was not revoked; he voluntarily returned it for parliamentary career.
Personal life
Oh married to Yoo Jung-mi and has 2 sons — Oh Se-yoon and Oh Se-hyun. He is a Protestant.
