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Byeon Chang-heum
South Korean educator turned government official From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Byeon Chang-heum (Korean: 변창흠; Hanja: 卞彰欽; born 14 August 1964) is a South Korean educator who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation from April 2019 to December 2020. On 4 December 2020, he was nominated the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, replacing the incumbent Kim Hyun-mee.[1]
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Career
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Early career
Byeon was a lecturer at Chungbuk National University, Kangnam University, Yonsei University and Seoul National University.[2] He was the senior researcher at Seoul City Development Corporation (later Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation) from 1996 to 1999, and became a Professor of Public Administration at Sejong University in 2003.[3][1] In 2014 he was the head of the Korea Centre for City and Environment Research.[3]
In November 2014 Byeon was appointed the CEO of the SH Corporation, under the then Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon.[1] The appointment gained public attention, as he was the first scholar to hold the position.[2] Under his tenure the corporation changed its name to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation in 2016.[2] He resigned in November 2017 due to a blacklist controversy.[4]
His tenure as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation began on 29 April 2019.[5] He backed and fulfilled the housing policies of the Moon Jae-in government.[2] When he attended the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly on 3 August 2020, he was asked by the Icheon MP Song Seog-jun about (among Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in) which government's real estate policy was the best.[1][6] Byeon replied that Moon's policy is the best.[1][6]
On 4 December 2020, he was nominated the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, replacing the incumbent Kim Hyun-mee.[1][7] As he became a minister-nominee, he resigned as the CEO of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation on 14 December.[8] Several netizens denounced his appointment as "similar" or "spicier" than the incumbent.[9]
On 12 March 2021, Byeon offered to tender his resignation to the President Moon Jae-in.[10] He left office on 16 April.[11][12][13] His term was 109 days,[12] making him the shortest-serving Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.[13]
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Controversies
On 18 December 2020, the office of Park Seong-min, a People Power MP, said that Byeon had made a defamatory remark against share house residents while he was the CEO of the SH Corporation on 30 June 2016.[14] The remark was "Those poor people should cook at their home, not buying outside foods. It's absolutely crazy."; where the "poor people" refers to "share house residents".[14] A day before, Park's office had said that Byeon had made another remark against a victim of Guui station incident; saying "It was just nothing. The victim had to be careful."[15]
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Personal life and education
After the graduation from Neungin High School, Byeon attended Seoul National University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in economics, a master's degree in urban planning and a doctorate in public administration.[2][1]
In 1992, he married Park Jong-hyo, a professor at Konkuk University. They have two daughters — Byeon Ye-seul and Byeon Hyun-jung.[2]
He is a Buddhist.[2]
References
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