Susan Kwon

Susan Misun Kwon (born October 10, 1977) is a Sierran politician as Leader of the Social Democrats since 2017. Kwon has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for San Francisco's 2nd parliamentary district, which is commonly known as since 2008. She has previously served as the Social Democrats Spokesperson for Commerce and Labor under the premiership of Steven Hong and began her political career as a member of San Francisco City's Board of Supervisors in 2006. A self-described "", she has represented a leftward push within the Social Democrats with a platform.

Born and raised in Sarangnha, Orange, Kwon attended and graduated and earned a law degree from the University of Sierra, Berkeley School of Law, before she began her career as a civil rights attorney and social activist. Kwon entered political office when she was elected as a member of San Francisco City Board of Supervisors, running as a Social Democrat, in 2006. She became the youngest individual to be elected and hold office in the city government. She was elected as a Member of Parliament for Tenderloin and later became the Social Democrats Spokesperson for Commerce and Labor, serving effectively as the de facto Shadow Minister of Commerce and Labor under the Second Hong Government.

In 2015, Kwon announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Social Democrats following the resignation of Marcel Guillory. Positioning herself as a committed, principled and a fighter for, Kwon rose in popularity as a favorite quickly during the race, and won with over 65% of the votes in the election. She was critical of the Social Democrats' leadership for what she perceived as compromising social democratic values for neoliberal values shared by the Democratic-Republican establishment. During her first months as leader, Kwon adopted a more hardline approach towards the party's left-leaning policies and roots, and started the "Forwarding the Movement" initiative, which encouraged progressive Democratic-Republicans to defect to the Social Democrats. Her campaign received mixed reactions, with some describing the move as a "schismatic event" for the Sierran left and liberals.

Early life
Susan Misun Kwon was born on October 10, 1977 in the Korean District section of Sarangnha, Orange. Her father, Kwon Chul-woo was born on September 9, 1955 in, Korea and immigrated to Orange in 1971 with his family as a teenager. Kwon's mother, Kwon ( Choi) Young-kyo, was born in, Korea, and immigrated to the Gold Coast with her uncle's family in 1973. Kwon's parents met while attending a Korean cultural program in Sarangnha in 1975 and married in 1976. Kwon has one younger sister, Chloe, four years her junior.

Kwon was educated at Ernest O. Lawrence Elementary School and was school friends with future Sierran K-pop artist Emma Chae. She grew up learning both English and Korean, and took classes, eventually earning a. She later enrolled in Alamitos Intermediate School and then. Kwon also practiced the and played on the girls' volleyball team in middle school and high school. She was introduced to politics by her history teacher during her sophomore year and got involved in the school newspaper as a writer. Kwon later joined her school's Mock Trial where she and her team reached the national semifinals. She became active with the Young Socialists, her local Social Democrats Party chapter (then called the Social Democratic Party), and the Students Against Western Imperialism (SAWI). Kwon initially aspired to become a teacher but decided to pursue law instead after being convinced by her civics teacher.

Kwon graduated from Bolsa Grande with the highest honors as one of the salutatorians and received a fully paid scholarship to attend as an undergraduate student. She graduated from the university as a double major with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Economics. Kwon moved to San Francisco City and enrolled in the University of Sierra, Berkeley School of Law in 2005. She chaired the Young Social Democrats chapter on campus and interned for the Supreme Court of San Francisco during her studies. She graduated with a law degree and was admitted into the Bar Association of San Francisco in 2008.

Early career and political activities
While she was attending the University of Sierra, Berkeley, Kwon worked as a social worker for the Give Back to the People grassroots advocacy organization. She also organized and led an all-volunteer task force of Chinatown youth to clean up trash and beautify Tenderloin District. She became a spokesperson for the local Asian Sierran community and engineered a number of rallies and demonstrations to protest against rising rental costs in the city aggravated by. Kwon made her first televised appearance as a professional when she testified before the San Francisco City Board of Supervisors, imploring them to reject plans to convert certain sections of into pedestrian zone sidewalks, in June 2005. Her testimony received local media attention due to her fiery condemnation of the city government, criticizing them for their insensitivity to community issues and concerns. She received backing by members of the local Social Democrats, the Greens, and independents to run against the Democratic-Republican leadership in the upcoming 2006 Board of Supervisors elections. Kwon defeated Democratic-Republican incumbent Peter Ross and became a member of the Board of Supervisors. Her noteworthy election attracted widespread attention and elicited thousands of invitations to Kwon to give speech on her success.

Kwon ended her active involvement in her previous advocacy groups in order to concentrate on her responsibilities as a board member and a law student. Nonetheless, she continued maintaining professional contact with the Social Democrats, and occasionally attended local chapter meetings. As a board member, she raised funding necessary to improve living conditions in the older sections of the Tenderloin District, and increased accountability for neighborhood watch volunteers. She resisted plans from the provincial government to reduce funding for the city's education, claiming that it was "ridiculous" to cut funding to where over 90% of San Francisco's population lived in the city. In addition to her official capacity as supervisor, Kwon worked part-time in private practice as an attorney under the helm of the Association of Civil Rights Attorneys (ACRA) on pro bono cases in the Bay Area region. She attracted some controversy when she named Sierran Civil War general Isaiah Landon and Sierran Marxist activist Elliot Keller as inspirational figures who had influenced her political views and motivations at an open forum meeting.

Notable legislation Kwon spearheaded during her tenure as supervisor included successfully initiating free community college education for San Francisco City residents and raising the minimum wage to $14 from $12. She also voted in favor of lifting an ordinance that prohibited the homeless from loitering in certain areas during daylight hours, which she described as discriminatory and humiliating. Kwon also campaigned for a measure that supported banning of single-use plastic bags in the city, a measure which was later passed provincial-wide in a 2010 referendum.

Parliamentary backbencher (2008–13)
In 2007, Kwon announced her intention to run for San Francisco's 2nd seat in the House of Commons, as a Social Democrat, to replace outgoing fellow Social Democrat MP Alan Deng, who was retiring. As a community favorite, she ran a largely uncontested election as her district was considered a strong Social Democrat-Democratic-Republican constituency and both parties had entered into a local agreement to not field opposing candidates in the region. During the campaign, she received support from a number of prominent politicians including San Francisco Governor Terry Scott and Social Democrat Leader Felix Hunt. She campaigned on a very progressive platform, stressing her commitment towards advancing social justice and economic equality. Kwon acknowledged the traditional values of the predominantly insulated Asian Sierran community in the district and emphasized her desire to elevate and draw attention to their concerns, who had been "overlooked".

Shortly after winning election, she became a columnist on the San Francisco City Chronicle, sharing her thoughts on national politics, especially on foreign policy and fiscal policy. Kwon garnered attention and controversy over her fiery and passionate presentation in the House floor. During an appearance on RBS' Sunday Evening Dateline, Royalist MP Ryan Bannon criticized Kwon and stated that he had filed a complaint to the House Ethics Committee, claiming Kwon's conduct and decorum was "unruly, disrespectful, and ignorant to common parliamentary procedure". Kwon responded to such criticism the following day of the broadcast by saying, "Perhaps if politicians worried more about real issues such as fellow citizens than arbitrary rules, I wouldn't come off as so abrasive to these people".