Ben Chin

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Ben Chin, or Byun Kyu Chin (born Geneva, Switzerland in 1964) is a Canadian political aide and former television journalist.

Chin's father was a South Korean diplomat and spent a decade moving around the world. From 1970 to 1974 the Chins were in Ottawa. After his father's Canadian posting ended, Chin decided to stay in Toronto, living with his older siblings - both students at the University of Toronto. He has also claimed, however, that he moved to Canada at age 13, leaving his parents behind in Korea, because they were facing political persecution[1]. After completing high school at East York Collegiate Institute (with a brief stint living in the Washington, DC area with his parents), Chin went to the University of Toronto, but left without graduating in 1986 intending to become a novelist. After stops and starts as a bartender, cab driver and other odd jobs, Chin met his future wife Barb Ustina in 1987 and, with her guidance, turned to journalism. After submitting a demo tape to various TV news outlets, Chin was hired by Citytv Toronto as a junior reporter.

Chin was a reporter and newsreader at City from 1989 to 1997. He was best known for covering the Paul Bernardo murder trial. He then left City and headed east to Halifax as Atlantic Bureau Chief for CTV News. In 1998 he returned to Toronto and joined CBC Newsworld, where he anchored The National on weekends.

In September, 2003, he joined Toronto 1 as co-anchor with Sarika Sehgal of the station's nightly newscast. On June 2, 2005, following the acquisition of the station by Sun Media, the station's news programming was cancelled and Chin lost his job. He was subsequently named senior correspondent for the Global Television Network's Global National. On July 21, before Chin had ever appeared on Global National, he left the network and joined the communications staff of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

On February 16, 2006, Chin was appointed the Liberal Party nominee for the upcoming provincial by-election in Toronto—Danforth, held to fill the vacancy created when NDP incumbent Marilyn Churley resigned to run in the 2006 federal election. Chin was defeated by his NDP opponent, Peter Tabuns, the former executive director of Greenpeace Canada and a former Toronto City Councillor for part of the riding.