Kweon Seong-dong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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권성동 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.png) Kweon in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the National Assembly for Gangneung | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 29 October 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Choi Wook-chul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1960-04-29) 29 April 1960 Gangneung, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | People Power (since 2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other party | GNP (2009–2012) Saenuri (2012–2016) Bareun (2017) Liberty Korea (2017–2020) UFP (2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Kim Jin-hee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Kweon Seung-ohk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chung-Ang University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature | .svg){kind=small} | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kweon Seong-dong (Korean: 권성동, born 29 April 1960) is a South Korean lawyer and politician. A member of the People Power Party, he has been the member of the National Assembly for Gangneung since 2009.
Before entering politics, Kweon worked as a prosecutor and lawyer at various prosecution offices and the Ministry of Justice. He made his political debut at the 2009 Gangneung by-election which he won with about 51% of popular votes. He made himself known through his role at the 2016 political scandal, which led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.
Kweon has held several high-ranking leadership positions within his party. He served as the floor leader of the People Power Party in 2022 and again from 2024 to 2025. Additionally, he has stepped in as the party's acting leader on four separate occasions: twice in 2022, once in December 2024, and most recently in May 2025. He also previously served as the secretary-general for both the People Power Party and its predecessor, the Saenuri Party.
Early life and education
Kweon was born in Gangneung, Gangwon in 1960.[1] He is the eldest of the three sons and a daughter of a housewife and Kweon Seung-ohk (died in 2022), was an educator and the former Director of Gangneung Myeongryun Institution.[2][3][4] He attended Gangneung Myeongryun High School before joining Chung-Ang University, where he studied law.[1]
Career
Although Kweon participated in anti-dictatorship movements in 1980, he chose to prepare for the bar instead of continuing his activism as he did not agree with "radical changes".[2] He was qualified for the bar in 1985.[1]
Shortly after completing national service, he began his prosecutor career at Suwon District Prosecutor's Office in March 1991, where he worked till transferred to Gangneung branch of Chuncheon District Public Prosecutors Office in September 1993.[1] He then moved to Seoul, where he worked at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the Ministry of Justice, Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Offices, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, between 1994 and 2000, and again between 2003 and 2005.[1] His prosecutor career came to the end at Gwangju High Prosecutor's Office in 2006.[1] He then briefly worked as a lawyer at Sojong Partners.[1]
While he was working at the Ministry of Justice in 1999, Kweon made a draft of the National Human Rights Commission Act that was later submitted to the National Assembly.[2] The bill was, however, scrapped by the then ruling party, Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), who instead established the National Human Rights Commission based on the demand of left-leaning non-governmental organisations (NGO).[2] This made him to join politics.[2]
Politics
In the 2008 election, Kweon made an unsuccessful attempt to contest for Gangneung under the Grand National Party (GNP) banner.[1][2]
On 8 April 2022, Kweon was elected parliamentary leader of the People Power Party, defeating Cho Hae-jin.[5][6][7][8]
On 7 May 2025, Kweon went on a hunger strike as part of efforts to pressure the PPP into committing to a common candidate for the 2025 South Korean presidential election. This followed inconclusive negotiations between PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo and independent candidate Han Duck-soo.[9] On 11 September 2025, the National Assembly approved a motion to arrest Kweon on charges of bribery from the Unification Church.[10] On 17 September, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant against him.[11]
General elections
| Year | Elections | Constituency | Political party | Votes (%) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2009 By-election | Gangneung (Gangwon) | GNP | 34,834 (50.90%) | Won |
| 2012 | 19th National Assembly General Election | Gangneung (Gangwon) | Saenuri | 57,444 (60.78%) | Won |
| 2016 | 20th National Assembly General Election | Gangneung (Gangwon) | Saenuri | 54,359 (57.15%) | Won |
| 2020 | 21st National Assembly General Election | Gangneung (Gangwon) | Independent | 49,618 (40.84%) | Won |
| 2024 | 22nd National Assembly General Election | Gangneung (Gangwon) | People Power | 64,743 (54.24%) | Won |
References
- "[Who Is ?] 권성동 자유한국당 의원". businesspost.co.kr (in Korean). 13 January 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- 권성동. raythep.com (in Korean). Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- 권승옥 전 학교법인 강릉명륜학원 이사장 별세 (in Korean). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- [부고] 권성동 국민의힘 국회의원 부친상. sedaily.com (in Korean). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- 국민의힘 새 원내대표에 '윤핵관' 권성동 의원. hani.co.kr (in Korean). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- 국민의힘 원내대표에 '尹 최측근' 권성동… "협치에 더 힘 쏟겠다". Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- [프로필] 권성동 국민의힘 신임 원내대표…당내 전략통. donga.com (in Korean). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- 국민의힘 신임 원내대표 권성동 의원‥"야당과의 협치에 정력 쏟겠다". imbc.com (in Korean). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- "PPP floor leader launches hunger strike to urge candidacy unification". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- "Nat'l Assembly approves arrest motion of PPP lawmaker". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- "Arrest warrant issued for PPP lawmaker Kweon over bribery allegations". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 17 September 2025.