Independent legislator Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a former chip technician for Samsung Electronics, plans to launch a new political party.
On June 26, Yang, 56, will conduct a debut event for the party at the Korea Federation of SMEs’ KBIZ Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. An announcement regarding the new party, including details on its members, will be made during the launch event. No other information could be offered, Yang’s office informed The Korea Herald on Monday.
In South Korea, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and the ruling People Power Party effectively control the country’s parliament, Yang is the most recent politician to attempt to create a new party.
Samsung technician-turned-lawmaker to launch political party
Former Democratic Party of Korea member and dovish liberal politician Keum Tae-sup announced his desire to found a new party, and Kim Chong-in, the former Democratic Party chairman, backed him in this.
The sole member of the National Assembly having semiconductor industry knowledge is Yang. Since 1986, when she first began working at Samsung Electronics, she has been a memory chip technician. Since 2014, she worked as an executive at Samsung Electronics who was focused on flash memory semiconductors.
2016 saw Yang’s entry into politics. She has been the electorate of Gwangju Seo-gu Eul since winning a general election in 2020.
Yang was dismissed from the Democratic Party in July 2021 as a result of allegations that one of her secretaries had harassed a fellow party member sexually. Yang has continued to be independent.
After the police exonerated the congressman, Yang attempted to rejoin the Democratic Party. However, she later withdrew her application because she disagreed with the party’s position on legislation that would have limited the prosecutor’s authority.
The People Power Party-sponsored special committee Yang headed in 2022 produced legislation in December that pushed for a tax cut of at least 8% for chipmakers to support the country’s semiconductor sector.
She presently works for a National Assembly standing committee on small and medium-sized businesses, energy, commerce, industry, and startups.