Yu Eui-dong
{{Short description|South Korean politician (born 1971)}}
{{family name hatnote|Yu||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = 200px
| caption = Yu in 2020
| honorific_prefix = The Honourable
| name = Yu Eui-dong
| honorific_suffix = MP
| native_name = {{nobold|유의동}}
| native_name_lang = ko
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|6|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Pyeongtaek, South Korea
| office1 = President of the New Conservative Party
| term_start1 = 5 January 2020
| term_end1 = 17 February 2020
Serving with:
Ha Tae-keung
Oh Shin-hwan
Chung Woon-chun
Ji Sang-wook
| predecessor1 = Position established
| successor1 = Position abolished
| office2 = Member of the National Assembly
| constituency2 = Pyeongtaek B
| term_start2 = 31 July 2014
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 = Lee Jae-young
| successor2 =
| party = People Power
| otherparty = Saenuri (2014–2016)
Bareun (2017–2018)
Bareunmirae (2018–2020)
NCP (2020)
UFP (2020)
| alma_mater = Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
University of California, San Diego
| spouse = Kim Yoon-jung
| occupation = Politician
| blank1 = Religion
| data1 = Roman Catholic
(Christian name: Andrew Kim Taegon)
| office = Chair of the People Power Party Policy Planning Committee
| predecessor = Park Dae-chul
| term_start = 16 October 2023
}}
Yu Eui-dong ({{Korean|hangul=유의동}}, born 23 June 1971) is a South Korean conservative{{cite news |date= 4 December 2019|script-title=ko:유의동 "보수재건 꿈꾸는 평범한 시민들 발기인으로 모시겠다"|url= http://the300.mt.co.kr/newsView.html?no=2019120411387630691&VRO_P|access-date= 14 December 2019}} politician who is a Member of National Assembly for the Pyeongtaek B constituency since 2014.
Early career
Prior to his political career, Yu studied Thai language at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.{{cite news |date= 30 July 2014|title= <3선 터줏대감 정장선 누른 40대 정치신예 유의동>|url= https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20140730167900061|access-date= 14 December 2019}} He holds a master's degree in international relations from University of California, San Diego. Following the graduation, he worked as a secretary for the ex-Prime Minister Lee Han-dong,{{cite news |date= 22 July 2019|script-title=ko:보좌관 출신 '신데렐라' 유의동 "보좌진은 갈등해소 전문가…의원 진출 많아져야"|url= https://www.hankyung.com/politics/article/201907220322i|access-date= 14 December 2019}} as well as an aide for a former MP Ryu Ji-young.
Political career
Yu was elected as the MP for Pyeongtaek 2nd constituency at the 2014 by-election, after the election of Lee Jae-young was nullified.{{cite news |date= 11 August 2014|script-title=ko:평택乙 유의동 의원이 말하는 김무성의 NO 전략공천 실험|url= http://weekly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=c02&nNewsNumb=002319100010|access-date= 14 December 2019}} He gained 52.05% and defeated Chung Jang-sun of New Politics Alliance for Democracy.{{cite news |date= 30 July 2014|script-title=ko:평택을 새누리당 유의동 당선|url= https://news.joins.com/article/15405855|access-date= 14 December 2019}}
Few months after his re-election in 2016, he left Saenuri Party{{cite news |date= 28 December 2016|script-title=ko:김학용·유의동 의원 새누리당 탈당|url= http://www.panews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=11223|access-date= 14 December 2019}} (then Liberty Korea Party) and joined Bareun Party. When Yoo Seong-min was elected as the party's president in November 2017, Yu was appointed as the chief spokesperson{{cite news |date= 15 November 2017|script-title=ko:바른정당 수석대변인에 '유의동 의원'|url= http://www.mcnews.co.kr/59753|access-date= 14 December 2019}} and served till the party was merged into Bareunmirae Party.
On 18 May 2017, 10 Bareun and Liberty Korea MPs including Yu proposed an amendment, which prohibits governmental researchers to be involved in politics, in order to reinforce political neutrality.{{cite news |date= 21 June 2017|script-title=ko:[세종풍향계] 출연硏 연구원 정치 발언 금지한다고? 연구원들 '부글부글'|url= http://biz.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/06/21/2017062101201.html?main_hot2|access-date= 14 December 2019}} The proposed amendment includes the prohibition of endorsing any political party or its candidates.
On 15 July 2019, Yu and Paek Seung-joo, Liberty Korea MP for Gumi 1st constituency, submitted a motion to the National Assembly to dismiss the Minister of National Defence, Jeong Kyeong-doo.{{cite news |date= 15 July 2019|script-title=ko:[사진]국무위원(국방부장관 정경두) 해임건의안 제출|url= https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2019071515463228451|access-date= 14 December 2019}}
On 1 December, Yu's Bareunmirae membership was suspended, as a member of the dissident group, Emergency Action for Change and Innovation.{{cite news |date= 1 December 2019|script-title=ko:바른미래당, 유승민·오신환 '당원권 1년 정지' 징계|url= http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/assembly/919190.html|access-date= 14 December 2019}} The group, later renamed as New Conservative Party,{{cite news |date= 12 December 2019|script-title=ko:변혁, 신당명 '새로운보수당…"이기는 야당 되겠다"(종합)|url= https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20191212035751001?input=1195m|access-date= 14 December 2019}} became a new political party, but was soon merged into the United Future Party (UFP; now People Power Party).
Personal life
Yu is a son of Yu Kwang, a former Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member who died in 2017.{{cite news |date= 2 May 2017|script-title=ko:[부고]유의동씨(국회의원) 부친상|url= http://news1.kr/articles/?2983415|access-date= 14 December 2019}}