우상호 禹相虎
Four-term lawmaker and former Yonsei student council president who served as Democratic Party floor leader and Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs
| Life | 1962 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 단양 우씨 |
Life & career
U Sang-ho (born 1962) is a South Korean politician of the Danyang clan. He served in the 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st National Assemblies and as the first Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs under the Lee Jae-myung government; Wikipedia further describes him as elected 40th Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province in the 2026 local elections. A native of Cheorwon, Gangwon, he graduated in Korean literature from Yonsei University and is also a published poet.
During the June 1987 Struggle he led the democratization movement as president of the Yonsei student council and vice-chair of the National Council of University Student Representatives, and chaired the funeral committee for Lee Han-yeol, the student who died in the protests. In August that year he was arrested and indicted on charges of defaming the state and violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, received a sentence of one year and six months suspended for two years, and was specially pardoned in February 1988. After working in publishing and other fields, he entered formal politics in 2002 when former President Kim Dae-jung recruited him.
He won Seodaemun-gap in Seoul in the 2004 17th general election and entered the Assembly, winning again in the 19th, 20th and 21st. He served several times as party spokesman for the Uri Party, the United Democratic Party and the Democratic Party, and in May 2016 was elected the first floor leader of the Democratic Party in the 20th Assembly. He chaired the emergency committee from June to August 2022 and declared he would not run in the 22nd general election in 2024. Recruited in June 2025 as Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, he is recorded as serving until January 2026. As he is living, this page introduces his record neutrally.
A distinctive feature of his career is the path from student activist to spokesman, floor leader and presidential senior secretary for political affairs. He is described as having served as spokesman eight times, a long role of conveying his party's position before the press, and he is also known as a literary figure who writes poetry.
The June 1987 Struggle
As Yonsei student council president he took part in the June Struggle and chaired the funeral committee for Lee Han-yeol, was arrested and indicted, and was specially pardoned the next year.
Lawmaker and Floor Leader
First elected for Seodaemun-gap in 2004, he served four terms and was elected floor leader in 2016, facing U Won-sik of the same clan in the leadership race.
Grave
Not applicable, as he is living.