Seo Juseok Former Deputy Defense Minister Appointed as NSC First Deputy Director... 5 Blue House Secretaries Replaced (Comprehensive)

'Replacing the Real Estate Officer' Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport... Multi-Homeowners Joseongjae and Park Jinkyu Secretaries Also Leave the Blue House

Seo Ju-seok, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 24th, President Moon Jae-in made personnel changes involving five members of the Blue House secretariat, including nominating former Vice Minister of National Defense Seo Joo-seok (62, photo) as the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office (NSC).

The newly appointed First Deputy Director Seo previously served as Director of the Strategic Planning Office of the National Security Council during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Senior Secretary for Unification, Foreign Affairs, and Security at the Presidential Secretariat, and was the inaugural Vice Minister of National Defense under the Moon Jae-in government. He is scheduled to be officially appointed on the 25th. His predecessor, Kim Yoo-geun, the current NSC First Deputy Director, is reportedly being considered as a candidate for the next Minister of National Defense.

Kang Min-seok, Blue House spokesperson, stated, "The newly appointed First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, Seo, is an expert who combines both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in diplomacy and security," adding, "We expect him to fulfill his duties as the NSC First Deputy Director, including establishing security strategies, coordinating current issues, and successfully concluding defense reforms."

(From left) Yeohangu, Secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies; Do Jaehyung, Secretary for Employment and Labor; Ha Dongsu, Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Ryu Geunhyeok, Secretary for Social Policy (Photo by Cheongwadae)

Additionally, Yoon Sung-won, Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who had been in charge of real estate policy for over three years since the start of the Moon administration, was also replaced. President Moon nominated Ha Dong-soo, Director of Housing Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (52), as the next Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, along with replacing four secretaries in total.

Yeo Han-gu, Director of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (51), was appointed as Secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies; Do Jae-hyung, Professor at Ewha Womans University Law School (52), as Secretary for Employment and Labor; and Ryu Geun-hyeok, Director of Population Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare (56), as Secretary for Social Policy. These four secretaries are scheduled to be appointed on the 27th. Given that most are from government ministries, it appears that bureaucrats with expertise have been promoted to strengthen the administration’s second half.

Spokesperson Kang explained the background, saying, "To ensure the smooth implementation of real estate policies, we nominated Ha, an expert who has been responsible for housing policy and public housing, as Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport. For the Secretaries for New Southern and New Northern Policies and Social Policy, we nominated Yeo, who is highly regarded for his expertise in trade negotiations at the relevant government ministry, and Ryu, who is well-versed in population policy."

Meanwhile, among those replaced in this personnel reshuffle, Secretary for Employment and Labor Cho Seong-jae and Secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies Park Jin-gyu were classified as multi-homeowners. Secretary Yoon, who was in charge of housing policy, also became controversial for selling an apartment in Sejong City while retaining an apartment in Gangnam, Seoul, citing "working in Seoul" as the reason, and was ultimately replaced. Following the directive of Chief Secretary Noh Young-min, the Blue House is currently reviewing the housing sale status of multi-homeowner aides by the end of this month.

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