Succeeding New constituency Constituency Seoul Seongdong B Alma mater Hanyang University Education Hanyang University | Constituency Seoul Jung–Seongdong A Citizenship South Korean Religion Roman Catholicism Political party Minjoo Party of Korea | |
Born 20 November 1967 (age 49)
South Korea ( 1967-11-20 ) Profiles | ||
Hong Ihk-pyo (Hangul: 홍익표; Hanja: 洪翼杓; born 20 November 1967) is a South Korean academic and politician in the liberal Minjoo Party of Korea. Since 2012 he has been member of the National Assembly for Seongdong, Seoul. He is considered a member of the party's pro–Roh Moo-hyun faction.
Hong attracted attention in July 2013 as a spokesman for the Minjoo Party's predecessor, the Democratic Party, when he described President Park Geun-hye as a gwitae (귀태; 鬼胎), literally a "baby born to a ghost" or "ghost fetus", an uncommon term that has been applied in an abstract sense to Japanese militarism. A presidential spokesman stated that the label was "verbal abuse and a slur" and questioned Hong's "qualification as a lawmaker". Hong was forced to resign as party spokesman following the remark.
Before becoming a National Assembly member, Hong was a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. He previously worked as an advisor in the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, and later in the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia from 2005 to 2006 in Japan and as senior policy advisor in the Ministry of Unification from 2007 to 2008.