Bae Jae-jung

Bae Jae-jung
Bae Jae-jung
배재정
Secretary to the President for Political Affairs
	In office; 1 September 2020 – 20 June 2021
President	Moon Jae-in
Preceded by	Kim Gwang-jin
Succeeded by	Kim Han-kyu
Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
	In office; 12 June 2017 – 5 November 2018
Prime Minister	Lee Nak-yeon
Preceded by	Shim Oh-taek
Succeeded by	Joung Wun-hyun
Member of the National Assembly
	In office; 30 May 2012 – 29 May 2016
Constituency	proportional representation
Personal details
Born	16 February 1968 (age 56); Busan, South Korea
Political party	democratic
Alma mater	Busan National University
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Bae Jae-jung (Korean: 배재정; Hanja: 裵在禎; born 16 February 1968) is a South Korean politician previously served as the Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon's first chief of staff. She is the first woman to lead the Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS) since its creation in 1960s.^[1]

Bae is one-term parliamentarian of now-ruling party, Democratic Party of Korea. During her term from 2012 to 2016, she took various roles in her party such as a member of Emergency Planning Commission in 2013, a spokesperson from 2013 to 2014 and vice-chair of Policy Committee from 2014 to 2015. Additionally, she worked as the deputy chief of staff to Moon Jae-in's first presidential campaign in 2012.

After then-parliamentarian Moon Jae-in was elected as the party leader and therefore announced that he will not seek for re-election in 2016 general election, she was chosen as a democratic candidate to replace him at the National Assembly. Unfortunately, she lost the election by less than 2,000 votes.

After serving as the chief of staff to Lee Nak-yeon, the first Prime Minister of President Moon Jae-in, she ran for the same constituency in the 2020 general election^[2] but lost again.^[3] In September 2020 she was brought back to the administration now serving as the President's secretary for political affairs.^[4]

Before entering politics, she worked as a Busan Ilbo's journalist for almost two decades from 1989 to 2007 and a ranking member of its trade union.^[5]

Bae holds a bachelor's degree in English language and literature and completed master's programme in arts, culture and videography from Busan National University in 1990 and 2012 respectively.

Electoral history

Election	Year	District	Party Affiliation	Votes	Percentage of votes	Results
19th National Assembly General Election	2012	Proportional Representation	Democratic United Party	7,777,123	36.45%	Won
20th National Assembly General Election	2016	Busan Sasang	Democratic Party	41,055	35.87%	Lost
21st National Assembly General Election	2020	Busan Sasang	Democratic Party	59,346	46.5%	Lost

2016 South Korean legislative election : Sasang District
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Chang Je-won	42,924	37.50
	Democratic	Bae Jae-jung	41,005	35.87
	Saenuri	Son Su-jo	30,463	26.61
Total votes			115,903	100.0
	Independent gain from Saenuri

2020 South Korean legislative election : Sasang District
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	United Future	Chang Je-won	66,353	52.03
	Democratic	Bae Jae-jung	59,346	46.54
Total votes			129,101	100.0
	United Future hold

References

^ 역대실장 [List of Chief of Staff to PM] (in Korean).
^ 배재정 국무총리 비서실장, 21대 총선 준비 위해 사임. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
^ [선택 2020] 부산남자 장제원, 배재정 꺾고 3선 고지 우뚝. NewsPim (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-08-31.
^ 청와대 비서관급 인사…배재정·김광진·윤재관 등 6명. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
^ 첫 여성 총리비서실장에 배재정 전 의원 임명(종합) [First female PM's chief secretary Bae Jae-jung ex-MP appointed] (in Korean).

[1] 역대실장 [List of Chief of Staff to PM] (in Korean).

[2] 배재정 국무총리 비서실장, 21대 총선 준비 위해 사임. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2020-08-31.

[3] [선택 2020] 부산남자 장제원, 배재정 꺾고 3선 고지 우뚝. NewsPim (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-08-31.

[4] 청와대 비서관급 인사…배재정·김광진·윤재관 등 6명. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-08-31.

[5] 첫 여성 총리비서실장에 배재정 전 의원 임명(종합) [First female PM's chief secretary Bae Jae-jung ex-MP appointed] (in Korean).

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