President Moon's Personnel Reshuffle: Deputy Ministers of 3 Ministries and Cheong Secretaries Promoted... 'Bureaucrat Veterans' Rise in Rank (Comprehensive)

Minister of Culture 1st Vice Minister Oh Young-woo, Vice Minister of Environment Hong Jeong-gi, Vice Minister of SMEs Kang Seong-cheon... Cheong Public Service Discipline Secretary Lee Nam-gu, Industry and Trade Secretary Yoo Jeong-yeol Appointed

(From left) Oh Young-woo, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Hong Jeong-gi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environment; Kang Seong-cheon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Lee Moon-gi, Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency (Photo by Cheong Wa Dae)

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 23rd, President Moon Jae-in carried out personnel appointments for vice ministers of three ministries and the Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency, along with appointments for secretaries of the Presidential Secretariat.

On the same day, President Moon appointed Oh Young-woo, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (age 55), as the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Hong Jeong-gi, Head of the Four Major Rivers Investigation and Evaluation Team (age 54), as Vice Minister of Environment; and Kang Seong-cheon, current Secretary for Industry and Trade at the Blue House Presidential Secretariat (age 56), as Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups.

Oh, the newly appointed 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, graduated from Seodaejeon High School in Daejeon and Seoul National University with a degree in Geography. He earned a master's degree in Arts Management from the University of Oregon and a doctorate in Information Management Engineering from Korea University. He passed the 34th Administrative Examination and has served as Policy Planning Officer, Copyright Policy Officer, and Director of the Overseas Cultural Promotion Agency at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Hong, the new Vice Minister of Environment, graduated from Unho High School in Chungbuk and Yonsei University with a degree in Public Administration. He earned a master's degree from the University of Delaware and a doctorate in Engineering from Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies. He passed the 35th Administrative Examination and has held positions including Head of the Han River Basin Environmental Office, Director of Water Environment Policy Bureau, Director of Natural Environment Policy Office, and Head of the Four Major Rivers Investigation and Evaluation Team.

Kang, the new Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups, graduated from Daekwang High School in Seoul and Seoul National University with a degree in Economics. He earned both master's and doctoral degrees in Economics from Indiana University. He passed the 32nd Administrative Examination and has served as Industrial Policy Officer, Director of Industrial Policy Office, and Deputy Minister for Trade, and is currently serving as a secretary at the Blue House.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a written briefing, "Oh, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is a bureaucrat who has broadly experienced the ministry’s work in culture, arts, and content. With his outstanding work execution ability and on-site communication skills, he is expected to resolve the difficulties faced by the performance and cultural arts sectors, which have been exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and to steadily promote key national tasks such as the promotion of the cultural arts industry and job creation in the cultural arts field."

Regarding Hong, the Vice Minister of Environment, he said, "He is a bureaucrat who has experienced overall environmental policies such as water quality and air quality at the Ministry of Environment headquarters and local environmental offices. He is expected to smoothly resolve major environmental issues such as fine dust reduction, integrated water management, and restoration of the natural state of the Four Major Rivers." He also added, "Kang, the Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups, demonstrated excellent work execution ability while serving as Secretary for Industry and Trade at the Presidential Secretariat, responding promptly to national issues caused by Japan’s export regulations. He is expected to contribute to swiftly overcoming the crisis faced by small and medium enterprises, small business owners, and self-employed individuals in the current emergency economic situation."

Additionally, President Moon appointed Lee Moon-gi, current Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (age 54), as Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency. Lee graduated from Daekwang High School in Seoul and Seoul National University with a degree in Economics, and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from the same university. He passed the 34th Administrative Examination and has served as Housing Policy Officer, Spokesperson, and Director of Housing and Land Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

(From the left) Namgu Lee, Secretary for Public Service Discipline, Jungyeol Yoo, Secretary for Industry and Trade

Furthermore, President Moon appointed Lee Nam-gu, Head of the Public Service Inspection Headquarters at the Board of Audit and Inspection (age 55), as the successor to Choi Kang-wook, former Secretary for Public Service Discipline, who resigned on the 16th to run for the National Assembly election. Lee graduated from Suwon High School and Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in Agricultural Economics. After passing the 38th Administrative Examination, he served as Audit Officer, Head of IT Audit Team, Director of Social Welfare Audit Bureau, and Head of Public Service Inspection Headquarters at the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Yoo Jeong-yeol, Director of Industrial Policy Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (age 54), was appointed as Secretary for Industry and Trade, filling the vacancy created by the promotion of the previous secretary to vice minister. Yoo graduated from Paejae High School and earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University, where he also completed his master's and doctoral degrees. Yoo, who was admitted to Harvard University through a special recruitment in the field of science and technology and earned a master's degree in Public Administration, has served as Deputy Director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Director of Industrial Innovation Growth Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.