Lee Jun-seok

Junseok "Andy" Lee (Korean: 이준석) is a South Korean entrepreneur and a founder of Edushare, an educational service organization. He was one of the 11-member Grand National Party’s (later Saenuri Party then Liberty Korea Party) Leadership Council, being the youngest member ever to sit on the Council that was given the power to overhaul the Party.[1]

Education

Lee studied in an American school in Indonesia for one year,[2] and later attended and graduated from Seoul Science High School. Once admitted to KAIST, Lee transferred to Harvard University and received a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science.

Work Experience

Lee interned as South Korean lawmaker Yoo Seong-min's assistant.

In lieu of military service, he did alternative service at Innotive, an IT firm owned by Nexon, as a junior software engineer. During his service he founded Edushare, a service organization similar to Teach for America to provide academic services to students who are a part of low-income families.[3] Lee first began the organization by an online plea in Seoul Science High Alumni website to recruit volunteers.

In 2010, he founded ClasseStudio, an online education startup along with the people he met at Innotive.

Grand National Party Leadership Council

Handpicked by Rep. Park Geun-hye, the party’s leading presidential candidate, Lee Jun-seok is the youngest ever to hold a leadership position in the history of the conservative ruling party. Being a part of the Leadership Council, Lee's role was to make key decisions on behalf of the party, including the selection of candidates to run in the parliamentary elections in April. Pundits view the appointment to appeal to the younger demographic and counter the surging popularity of Ahn Cheol-soo.[4] Lee's background in computer science and a track record of public service resemble those of Ahn and some see that as the reason for the appointment. Lee remained as a member of Saenuri Party after Park Geun-hye became the President of South Korea.

21st general election

Even though he won the main vote for the third time in the 21st general election to win the Nowon-gu disease, he was persuaded by those who lost the pre-voting, which recorded the highest voter turnout ever, and claimed that he would not be swayed by YouTube's conservatives, but rather reform the conservatives. As the controversy over the manipulation continued despite the discussion on the YouTube channel Pen & Mike, which was held on the condition of 1 million won in sponsorship to the Cheonan Foundation, on April 28, he said, "If there is no manipulation after recounting, I will have all the YouTube channels transferred to me and if there is any manipulation, I will resign from politics."[5]

After corruption scandal in 2016

During 2016 South Korean political scandal, Lee harshly criticized the former president Park Geun-hye, whom Lee supported at 18th presidential election. Lee quit Saenuri Party (currently renamed as Liberty Korea Party) and joined Bareun Party with conservative lawmakers who had opposed Park.

Controversies

Lee's background and comments have been reported heavily in the Korean media upon his appointment. Recently he asked the host of "I'm a Weasel", a progressive and popular podcast for political satire and criticism of the conservative Grand National Party, for help to investigate the political scandal that is plaguing the Grand National Party. Kang Yong-suk, a national assemblyman made some attacks on Junseok Lee's qualifications. The critics of the Grand National Party argue that Junseok Lee's old Tweets show his indifference to the average Korean and that he belongs to the upper elite as his Harvard education shows. Lee's tweet that stated "The National Council of the Victims of Forced Eviction must be mentally retarded" was viewed as evidence of his indifference and created particularly harsh criticisms.[6] Lee apologized for the remark and his uncontrolled emotions.[7]

References
  1. 26 year old grabs spotlight among new GNP leaders
  2. 한나라 비대위원 이준석 아버지, 유승민 의원과 친구
  3. Young start-up CEO steals show
  4. GNP's New Leadership Holds First Official Meeting; DUP Pledge to Achieve Fair Elections
  5. "이준석 "사전투표 조작설 사실이면 정계은퇴"". hankyung.com (in Korean). 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  6. SBS 정성근 앵커, “이준석, 강용석과 같은 과”
  7. 이준석 "박근혜, 의혹 신속히 털고 가야"
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