Park Neung-hoo
박능후
Minister of Health and Welfare
In office
22 July 2017 – 24 December 2020
PresidentMoon Jae-in
Preceded byChung Chin-youb
Succeeded byKwon Deok-cheol
Personal details
Born (1956-06-24) 24 June 1956
Haman, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Political partyIndependent
Alma materSeoul National University
University of California, Berkeley
OccupationProfessor
Park Neung-hoo
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBak Neung-hu
McCune–ReischauerPak Nŭnghu

Park Neung-hoo (Korean: 박능후; Hanja: 朴淩厚; born 24 June 1956) is a South Korean professor of social welfare at Kyonggi University previously served as President Moon Jae-in's first Minister of Health and Welfare from 2017 to 2020. Park was a leading figure combating the spread of coronavirus in South Korea.

Park studied the issue of poverty and social welfare for over three decades in academia.[1] With his appointment, President Moon completed formation of his first cabinet in 2017. As of 2020, he is leading one of three ministries in which the head has not changed since Moon's presidency began, along with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.[2]

Education

Park graduated from Seoul National University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Arts in political science.[3] In 1998, he earned a PhD in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.[4]

In 2020 he received The Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award.[5]

Controversy

On December 2, 2019, Health Minister Park made controversial remarks on a child-on-child sexual abuse case in which a five-year-old girl was sexually abused by another five-year-old boy. Park said that it was “natural behavior over the stages of development”, appearing to side with the perpetrator, causing a public outcry.[6] The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare apologized to the victim, her family and others hurt by Park's remarks, on behalf of the minister.[7][8][9][10]

On February 26, 2020, Park Neung-hoo's remarks caused controversy when he blamed South Korean nationals for the spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus, saying that “the biggest cause is us Koreans who entered from China”.[11][12] Park also claimed that the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases had not suggested an entry ban on infected countries, which was incorrect.[13][14] Opposition lawmakers suggested that President Moon Jae-in fire Park as a result.[15]

References

  1. ↑ ""박능후 후보자, 누구냐" 의료계 온종일 '들썩'". 메디칼업저버 (in Korean). 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  2. ↑ "강경화 박상기 박능후 '원년멤버' 3명만 남아". www.donga.com (in Korean). 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  3. ↑ "Minister's Profile: Park Neunghoo". Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Alumni in Action: Park Neunghoo (PhD '98) | Berkeley Social Welfare". socialwelfare.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  5. ↑ "Park Neung-hoo (PhD '98) honored with Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award | Berkeley Social Welfare". socialwelfare.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  6. ↑ Kim, Arin (3 December 2019). "[Newsmaker] Welfare minister apologizes for controversial comment on child-on-child sexual abuse". www.koreaherald.com. The Korea Herald.
  7. ↑ @mohwpr (December 2, 2019). "사과드립니다.오늘 국회에서 박능후 보건복지부 장관의 발언으로 마음의 상처를 받은 피해 아동과 부모님, 그리고 안타까운 마음으로 지켜보고 계시는 국민 여러분께 진심으로 사과드립니다" (Tweet). Retrieved March 13, 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Public outraged over health minister's response to sexual violence among children". koreatimes. 3 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "박능후, 이번엔 "성남 어린이집 사건, 성폭력 아닌 성적 일탈"". news.chosun.com (in Korean). 5 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "박능후, 성남시 어린이집 성폭력에 "발달과정 행동" 발언 파장". www.hani.co.kr (in Korean). 3 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Ruling party, government fuel public's mistrust". koreatimes. 27 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Cho, Kyungji; Lee, Yoojung; Lee, Heesu; Park, Kyunghee. "As Virus Spreads, Koreans Blame Refusal to Stop Chinese Visitors". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "감염학회 中입국금지 제안 안했다? 박능후 거짓말 논란". news.chosun.com (in Korean). 26 February 2020.
  14. ↑ ""감염학회, 중국 입국금지 추천 안했다"는 박능후 증언은 거짓". 중앙일보 (in Korean). 26 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "심재철 "코로나 책임 국민에게 돌린 박능후 장관 사퇴해야"". 한국일보 (in Korean). 27 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.


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