Blue House appoints Jeong Eui-yong as Foreign Minister and Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Hwang Hee and Kwon Chil-seung named Ministers of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Jeong Man-ho, Chief of Public Communication, giving a briefing on the ministerial personnel announcement
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Lee Ji-eun] The Blue House has made ministerial appointments for three ministries: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The scale was smaller than the initially expected 'third reshuffle,' and a 'clever move' was made to replace the Foreign Minister in line with the inauguration of the Biden administration.

The Blue House announced on the morning of the 20th through a briefing that President Moon had made appointments for three ministries.

For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeong Eui-yong, the President’s Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs and Security, was nominated; for the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party, was nominated; and for the Minister of SMEs and Startups, Kwon Chil-seung, also a Democratic Party member, was nominated.

This is somewhat reduced compared to the initially expected scale of 4 to 5 appointments. The replacement of the Foreign Minister coinciding with the official inauguration of the Biden administration on the 20th is also notable.

The Blue House stated, "Candidate Jeong is a top expert who has devoted his life to the fields of diplomacy and security," and "while serving as the National Security Office Chief under the Moon Jae-in administration for three years, he consulted and coordinated all issues between Korea and the U.S., and was deeply involved in major policies such as North Korea-U.S. negotiations for the implementation of the Korean Peninsula peace process and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, earning evaluations of having deep understanding and insight into diplomatic and security issues."

The Blue House expressed expectations that candidate Jeong, based on his diplomatic expertise and insight, will strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance, smoothly manage relations with major countries such as China, Japan, Russia, and the EU, and firmly establish and develop the Moon administration’s Korean Peninsula peace process as well as the New Southern and New Northern policies.

Regarding candidate Hwang, it was evaluated that he has demonstrated excellent policy planning skills and stakeholder communication capabilities while working in various policy areas such as the Democratic Party’s Public Relations Committee, the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and the 4th Industrial Revolution Special Committee. The Blue House emphasized, "He will successfully accomplish key tasks such as overcoming the crisis in the culture, arts, sports, and tourism industries caused by COVID-19, protecting sports human rights, innovating the sports sector, and strengthening communication with the public."

For candidate Kwon, a member of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee and chairman of the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on SMEs, the Blue House said, "He is highly regarded for his deep understanding of major policies and issues related to small and medium-sized enterprises," and expressed expectations that "he will promptly support SMEs facing management crises due to COVID-19."

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