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South Korean native vies for House seat
Among thousands of election campaign ads across the capital, one particular poster has stood out around Central Jakarta and South Jakarta showing a South Korean native running for a seat at the House of Representatives in February's general election.
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Election campaign banners cover a pedestrian bridge at Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Jan. 5, 2024. (Antara/Sulthony Hasanuddin)
Among thousands of election campaign ads across the capital, one particular banner has stood out around Central Jakarta and South Jakarta showing a South Korean native running for a seat at the House of Representatives in February’s general election.
The legislative candidate is 60-year-old Chong Sung Kim, who is running on the Golkar Party ticket. He is vying for one of seven House seats from the Jakarta II electoral district, which covers Central Jakarta, South Jakarta and overseas voters.
Questions immediately surfaced on social media about his eligibility to run in the race, while rumors circulated that Kim only changed his citizenship a year ago. But Kim, who moved to Indonesia and took up residence in Jakarta more than 30 years ago, has dismissed such allegations.
“I have been an Indonesian citizen for more than 10 years, since 2013,” Kim told The Jakarta Post with a chuckle last week.
Kim said he started his career in Indonesia as a businessman in the textile industry before deciding to try a new career in the legal field. He said he then earned bachelor's and master's degrees in law at the University of Indonesia (UI) and subsequently founded law firm Indoyang and Partners, where he has worked as a lawyer ever since.
