Labor Specialist and Policy Committee Chair for 4 Months... Han Jeong-ae, Environment Minister Candidate, 'Surprise' Appointment

Han Jeong-ae, Chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the party floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The nomination of Han Jeong-ae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, as Minister of Environment was largely unexpected. Unlike Park Beom-gye, who had been mentioned early on as a candidate for Minister of Justice, few anticipated Han’s appointment to the cabinet.

Han earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering and a master's degree in Environmental Engineering from Pusan National University, as well as a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Nottingham. In the National Assembly, she has mainly been active on the Environment and Labor Committee.

However, considering her career as chairman of the Korean Industrial Safety and Health Corporation labor union, senior vice chairman and head of external cooperation at the Korean Federation of Trade Unions Public Federation, and her election as a proportional representative in the 19th National Assembly, she has primarily worked as a labor specialist rather than focusing on the environment.

She had only been serving as the chairperson of the Democratic Party’s Policy Committee for four months since the launch of the Lee Nak-yeon leadership at the end of August. The Democratic Party will need to appoint a new policy committee chairperson.

If Park Beom-gye and Han Jeong-ae are confirmed through hearings and finally appointed, they will become the fourth and fifth cabinet members from the 21st National Assembly, following Lee In-young as Minister of Unification and Jeon Hae-cheol as Minister of the Interior and Safety.

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