Lee Jae-myung picks vice ministers for finance, foreign affairs, industry
The nomination was aimed at safeguarding national interests by quickly deploying human resources amid economic recession in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the presidential office said.
According to Lee's office, Lee named Lee Hyoung-il, commissioner of Statistics Korea, as the first vice finance minister. Lim Ki-keun, administrator of the Public Procurement Service, will serve as the second vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Two vice-minister posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also filled. Park Yoon-joo, minister of the mission of South Korea to ASEAN, and Kim Jin-a, dean of the language and diplomacy division at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, will serve as the first and second vice ministers at the Foreign Ministry, respectively.
Moon Shin-hak, spokesperson of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was nominated as the first vice minister of trade, industry and energy. Yeo Han-koo was also reinstated as the minister of trade, a vice-ministerial position. He served in the same position from 2021 to 2022 under the former liberal Moon Jae-in administration.
Vice ministers in South Korea do not require a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly before their appointment to the posts.
"We promise to restore the administration that suffered a rupture after (former President Yoon Suk Yeol's) insurrection in a speedy manner," Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.
"We will create a government capable of overcoming the (aftermath of) global protectionism."
Meanwhile, the presidential office announced that public access to Cheong Wa Dae will be partially restricted from July 16 to 31 and fully suspended starting August, as preparations for relocating the presidential office from Yongsan back to the historic compound in central Seoul begin. The move marks a reversal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2022 decision to vacate the site. Public visits to Cheong Wa Dae will resume once President Lee's office completes the transition.
The presidential office added that Seoul has secured a budget of 25.9 billion won ($18.9 million) for the relocation procedures.
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