Entertainment · Celebrity · 3 hrs ago
Choi Bul-am served in South Korea’s National Assembly before returning to acting
South Korean actor Choi Bul-am died aged 87, after a career that included four years in the National Assembly.
He entered politics in 1992, joining Chung Ju-yung’s Unification National Party and taking a seat on its proportional-representation list.
He later joined the ruling party after President Kim Young-sam urged him to stay in parliament, even as Chung’s party fell apart after the 1992 presidential election.
Choi was known for his manners in the legislature and said politics gave him a new view of the world.
In 1996, he ran for re-election in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district against Kim Min-seok.
Kim won with 48.87% of the vote, against Choi’s 32.49%, and Choi left politics.
He returned to acting, the career that remained central to his public legacy.
Choi Bul-am served four years in South Korea’s National Assembly from 1992 to 1996 under his birth name, Choi Young-han.
He entered politics after Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung recruited him as a proportional-representation candidate for the Unification National Party.
After Chung’s party faltered, President Kim Young-sam persuaded Choi to join the ruling Democratic Liberal Party.
Choi lost his 1996 constituency race in Seoul to Kim Min-seok, receiving 32.49% of the vote against Kim’s 48.87%.
He considered running again but returned to acting, later viewing his time in politics as an experience that broadened his perspective.
- Who
- Choi Bul-am, whose birth name is Choi Young-han, served as a lawmaker.
- What
- He served in the National Assembly for four years before losing his 1996 re-election bid and returning to acting.
- When
- From 1992 to 1996.
- Where
- South Korea’s National Assembly; he contested a constituency in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District.
- Why
- Chung Ju-yung recruited him to run for office. After losing in 1996, he considered another run but resumed acting.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Choi entered politics as a proportional-representation candidate for Chung Ju-yung’s Unification National Party.
Chung’s defeat weakened the party, and Kim Young-sam persuaded Choi to join the Democratic Liberal Party.
Choi ran for re-election in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District and lost to Kim Min-seok.
Choi considered preparing for another run but resumed acting.
- Assembly service
- 1992–1996
- 1996 election result
- Kim Min-seok 48.87%; Choi Bul-am 32.49%
- Constituency
- Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul
- Birth name
- Choi Young-han
- Length of Assembly service
- Four years
1 source
What people are saying
Chairman, what politics could I possibly do?
It’s all fate, I suppose.
You just have to go and sit there.
It would be going against the will of the people who sent you to the National Assembly.