[Person of interest of the week] ‘Jeju Mr. Go’ Dan Go enters the U.S. House of Representatives, ‘52 consecutive winning streak’ Ahn Se-young

Last week (November 1-6), domestic and foreign politicians received attention, including Korean-American Dan Go, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu, who passed a resolution calling for his expulsion from the National Assembly for his so-called 'denying civil war' remarks.

Ahn Se-young, a badminton star who won 52 consecutive wins for Pajuk at the Korea Open, Son Young-kwon, advisor to Samsung Electronics and Chairman of the Board of Harman, who made an agreement with a model-turned-marketer 25 years younger than her, and Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, who sought management control of Hanjin KAL against Hoban Construction, also attracted attention.

The following are people of interest who ranked high in search volume in the Yonhap News People DB.

◇ Dan Go (U.S. Congressman-elect)

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm election and became the 7th Korean-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democratic Party candidate Dan Ko (41, Korean name Go Won-young) ran for the 6th Congressional District in Massachusetts in the U.S. midterm election held on the 3rd (local time) and won, defeating Republican candidate Micah Queenie Jones.

Born to a Korean father and a Lebanese mother, he uses the Jeju Go clan surname after his father.

His grandfather, the late Dr. Go Gwang-rim, was a diplomat from Jeju and served as a minister and chargé d'affaires at the Korean Embassy in the United States in the early 1960s. His father, Howard Goh (Go Kyung-ju), a professor at Harvard University, served as Assistant Secretary of Health and Welfare in the Barack Obama administration.

The late president-elect, who graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Business School, served as chief of staff for the mayor of Boston and as a senior staff member in the White House under the Joe Biden administration.

He suffered a setback in the 2018 Democratic House primary election, but succeeded in entering Congress after running again eight years later.

In this midterm election, Korean politicians continued to be active, with Democratic Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, whose Korean name is Kim Soon-ja, winning her fourth term in Washington State's 10th Congressional District, and Democratic Congressman Dave Min confirming his re-election in California's 47th Congressional District.

◇ Kim Tae-gyu (People Power Party National Assembly member)

On the 5th, the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for the expulsion of Kim Tae-gyu, a member of the People Power Party, who sparked controversy with remarks purporting to deny the charges of rebellion by former presidents Yoon Seok-yeol and Chun Doo-hwan.

Last September, Rep. Kim was asked on a YouTube channel, “Is Chun Doo-hwan a civil war?” and answered, “I don’t think so.” Also, to the question, “Is Yoon Seok-yeol’s civil war or not?” he said, “No.”

The Democratic Party of Korea proposed a resolution calling for Rep. Kim's expulsion, saying he even denied the Supreme Court's ruling that recognized him as the 'leader of Chun Doo-hwan's rebellion' and violated his duty to comply with the Constitution and maintain dignity as a member of the National Assembly.

On the other hand, the People Power Party protested, saying that freedom of expression of members of the National Assembly cannot be restricted by judicial judgment or the power of a majority of seats.

The resolution calling for Rep. Kim's expulsion was passed with 166 votes in favor and 1 vote invalid out of 167 votes. People Power Party lawmakers did not participate in the vote.

However, the passage of this resolution does not mean Rep. Kim loses his seat as a member of the National Assembly. In order for the actual expulsion of members to take place, a separate disciplinary plan must pass through the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee and receive the approval of more than two-thirds of the registered members at the plenary session.

◇ Ahn Se-young (national badminton team)

This year, Pajuk continued his winning streak with a winning rate of over 98% and reached the quarterfinals of the Badminton Korea Open.

Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), ranked No. 1 in the women's singles world rankings, defeated Malaysia's Karupateban Rechana 2-0 in the round of 16 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Korea Open Super 500 Tournament held at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do on the 5th.

Ahn Se-young, who won in 36 minutes, advanced to the quarterfinals with 52 consecutive wins in official games.

Ahn Se-young, who has recorded only one loss this year and maintained a winning rate of 98%, will attempt to collect trophies for her 11th win of the season in this tournament.

◇ Young-Kwon Son (Advisor to Samsung Electronics and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Harman)

It became a hot topic when it became known that he had tied the knot with supermodel-turned-marketing expert Kim Ja-yeon (45), who is 25 years his junior.

On the 3rd, news of the marriage of Advisor Son (70) and Mr. Kim was reported.

Kim, who debuted in first place in the SBS Supermodel Contest in 2003, worked in the fashion field and is currently working as a marketing strategist.

The two first met about two years ago as seniors and juniors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and are said to have developed into a romantic relationship early this year.

Advisor Son served as President and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Samsung Electronics, and currently serves as Advisor to Samsung Electronics and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Harman International, an American electronics and audio company.

◇ Cho Won-tae (Chairman of Hanjin Group)

As Hoban Construction became the largest shareholder of Hanjin Group's holding company, Hanjin KAL, it was at the center of competition for management rights and shares.

On the 4th, Hanjin KAL announced that Hoban Construction and its related parties' stake was 20.69%, exceeding Chairman Cho's stake of 20.58% by 0.11 percentage points.

Hoban Group acquired a stake in Hanjin KAL from private equity fund KCGI in 2022 and became the second largest shareholder, and has been steadily expanding its stake by mobilizing its affiliates.

In response, Chairman Cho’s side immediately launched a counterattack. Chairman Cho plans to purchase an additional 325,000 shares (0.49%) of Hanjin KAL common stock early next month.

If the purchase is completed as scheduled, Chairman Cho's share will increase to 21.07%, again ahead of Hoban Construction (20.69%).

As the competition between the two sides to secure shares was highlighted, Hanjin KAL's stock price rose for four consecutive trading days from the 2nd to the 5th, soaring a total of 55%.