South Korean President Lee Jae Myung unveils 11 new ministers as Cabinet takes shape
SEOUL: President Lee Jae Myung on Monday (June 23) nominated 11 ministers for Cabinet posts, including South Korea's first civilian chief of the Ministry of National Defense in more than six decades, while the incumbent agriculture minister from the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration will remain in her post.
Among the nominees are five lawmakers of the National Assembly — all members of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea — while three have experience working at South Korea's business conglomerates.
Lee's Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik told reporters Monday that these nominees are clearly tasked with big missions, such as diplomacy seeking national interest, detente on the Korean Peninsula, military reform, tackling climate change, and the discovery of an Arctic sea route, among others.
Kang also said that, quoting Lee, the confirmation hearing process should proceed quickly so that the newly-formed Cabinet can respond swiftly to various crises such as the Middle East conflict. Lee, later on Monday, stressed a need for all ministries to formulate an "emergency response system" in the face of the Middle East crisis, as he presided over a meeting with his aides.
According to the presidential office, five-term lawmaker Rep. Ahn Gyu-back, who is a career politician, was nominated for the post of defence minister. If Ahn's nomination is approved by parliament, Ahn will become the first civilian defence minister since the military coup of 1961.
Kang said Ahn spent most of his career at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, and therefore "has a deep understanding of South Korea's military," adding he is the right fit to "spearhead the changes in the military forces" mobilised in the previous administration's self-coup attempt.
Alongside Ahn, five-term lawmaker Rep. Chung Dong-young, who served as unification minister under the Roh Moo-hyun administration 21 years ago, was nominated for the post again.
In addition, Cho Hyun, former permanent representative of South Korea to the United Nations, was tapped as minister of foreign affairs, while Kim Young-hoon, former president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and an active train conductor, was nominated for labor minister.
Three-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Sung-whan was selected to head the Environment Ministry, while fellow three-term lawmaker Rep. Chun Jae-soo was nominated as minister of oceans.
Two-term lawmaker Rep. Kang Sun-woo was picked to lead the Gender Equality Ministry, whose role Lee pledged during his campaign to expand in order to promote equal opportunities.
Lee's proposed Cabinet also includes those with experience in the private sector. Bae Kyung-hoon, chief of LG AI Research, was nominated for the science minister.
Han Seong-sook, former chief executive officer of internet giant Naver, was picked as minister of SMEs and startups; and Yoon Chang-yul, head of the LG Global Strategy Center and a former career civil servant, was tapped as the minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
In some of the presidential nominations, Lee prioritized national unity, according to Kang, as sitting Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung will remain in her post, and former conservative lawmaker Kwon Oh-eul, who joined Lee's campaign team before the election, was tapped to lead the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
It was the first batch of ministerial-level nominations since Lee took office on June 4, immediately after the presidential election. Lee's first Cabinet pick -- Rep. Kim Min-seok as prime minister -- awaits a confirmation hearing later this week.
All nominees, except for Agriculture Minister Song and the minister of government policy coordination, must go through a confirmation hearing in parliament, a majority of whose seats are held by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Monday's nominations leave three Cabinet posts — finance, justice and interior — still vacant, while the fate of five ministers appointed under former President Yoon, including former acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Ju-ho, remains undecided.
Since Lee's inauguration in early June, he has worked with Cabinet ministers under the Yoon administration, though they all offered to resign. - The Korea Herald/ANN
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