Song Young-gil

He was Member of the National Assembly, as well as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the 21st National Assembly.

He also held various positions such as the Chair of the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia and as the Chair of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation.

Song Young-gil (born 21 March 1963) is a South Korean politician who served as the Leader of the centre-liberal Democratic Party from 2 May 2021 until 10 March 2022.

In May 1980 when he was a senior high school student, he witnessed the Gwangju Democratization Movement.

Seeing the deaths of innocent citizens with his own eyes marked a turning point in his life.

After entering Yonsei University to study business management in 1981, he joined the anti-dictatorship movement without any hesitation.

In 1984, he succeeded in removing the government-controlled student body and reinstated the student council.

He subsequently became the first ever directly elected president of the student council and thereafter led the student democratization movement.

He was jailed as a result.

After release from jail in 1985, Song moved to Incheon to start life as a laborer.

He became a welder at the Daewoo Motor factory in Incheon.

He also worked in watch, glove, and furniture factories for two years.

In 1987 with the support of Germany's human rights foundation ‘Bread for the World’ and Kim, Dae-joong, Kim, Young-sam and other politicians, Song established ‘Christian Public Education Research Institutes’ in Bupyeong, Incheon.

Song conducted legal counseling for human rights violations, education on labor unions, and provided legal support.

In 1988, he was recognized for his contribution to democratization and had his rights reinstated.

While working as a taxi driver, he democratized the Taxi Labor Union and became the first Secretary-General of the National Taxi Trade Union, Incheon Division in 1991.

He dedicated himself in promoting the rights of transportation laborers.

After passing the National Bar Examination in 1994, he went to Incheon.

He worked as a human rights lawyer.

He ran in the 1999 by-election to help people in need but lost because the general public was disenchanted by politics at the time.

Shortly afterwards, Song began his career as a National Assemblyman in 2000.

Based on his experience as a lawyer, Song applied to work for the Legislation & Judiciary Committee to take care of bills that are closely related to the people's livelihood and human rights.

Song led a National assembly delegation which attended a Human Rights and Parliamentary Conference for the five Northeast Asian nations which was held in Mongolia.

At the conference, he made a speech about the human rights situation in Korea and proposed legislation on anti-humanitarian crimes.

As a member of the Legislation & Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, Song played a crucial role in creating a law on the National Human Rights Commission.

Song also assumed the role of Chairman of the Democratic Party's Commission on the Yong-san Tragedy to negotiate with the government and Seoul City over much delayed compensation and funeral issues.

Events during the Japanese colonization of Korea have been thorny issues for decades, including the issue of compensation for Korean comfort women used by the Japanese army, the distorted history which appears in Japanese textbooks, and the name and territorial rights over the islet of Dokdo.

In response to this, Song proposed a resolution on the distortion of Japanese history books and the elimination of vestiges of the Japanese colonial period with other lawmakers, calling for immediate action by the Korean government.

In 2001, through the activities of a special committee, Song sent CDs containing information on Japan's invasion, comfort women and the distortion of Japanese history books to 600 overseas institutions, demanding Japan's apology and asking for the support of other nations.

In addition to calling for Japan's apology, Song attended the Joint Conference of the Korea-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Council and proposed a statement which sought ways for Korea and Japan to cooperate in diverse areas as new partners.

As such, Song has underscored a more accurate perception of history and contributed to a future-oriented partnership.

Song thought that there should be keen interest in and support for Myanmar from the whole world as well as Korea, and has cooperated with it since 2003.

In 2007, he and 13 lawmakers who were dedicated to the democratization of Korea during the dictatorship in the 1980s jointly proposed a resolution that supported the democratization of Myanmar and donated money that had been raised to the Korean branch of the Myanmar Democratization Alliance.

In October 2008, they announced a resolution which called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and expressed support for the Myanmare people who continued to struggle against the junta.

They also sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban, Ki-moon and Myanmar military regime to urge the democratization of Myanmar.

He previously served as Mayor of Incheon from 2010 to 2014.

Prior to serving as mayor, he was a democratic movement student activist and a member of the Korean National Assembly for three terms.

He is a practicing Catholic.

Song, Young-gil was born in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, the fourth son of a poor civil servant.

He grew up in a rural area and was inspired by nature.