Park Won-joo, Cheong Economic Secretary, "Will Manage Current Issues Well"... Likely to Focus on Supply Chain Solutions

Unusually Appointed Industrial Economy Expert
Determined to Address AdBlue Crisis and Other Issues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Park Won-joo, the newly appointed Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Blue House amid the urea solution supply instability crisis, expressed a strong willingness to actively address various current issues. The Blue House's unusual decision to appoint someone from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy rather than the Ministry of Economy and Finance as the Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs is interpreted as reflecting the judgment that micro-level field responses are more urgent than macro fiscal policies.

On the 12th, in a phone interview with Asia Economy, Senior Secretary Park said, "I will organize the current issues well," and added, "Upon arrival, I found that the supply chain response is well organized." This shows his intention to leverage his expertise in industrial economics to address recent global supply chain instability and carbon neutrality issues.

Senior Secretary Park, who began his bureaucratic career at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a 31st-grade civil service exam passer, has served as Director-General of Industrial Policy, Director-General of Energy Resources, and Director-General of Planning and Coordination at the ministry. In 2018, he served as Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. During the Park Geun-hye administration, he worked as the Blue House Secretary for Trade, Industry and Energy, and during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he was recognized for his capabilities to the extent that he served as Chief of Staff when former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun was Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. Since former Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Ahn Il-hwan, who resigned earlier for health reasons, had been leading the Blue House task force on the urea solution crisis, it is expected that Park will take over and begin devising practical alternatives reflecting his operational capabilities.

Within government circles, the unprecedented appointment of an economic secretary from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is seen as a move for more micro and immediate responses. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, economic secretaries were typically appointed from academia (former Senior Secretary Hong Jang-pyo) or the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Yoon Jong-won, Lee Ho-seung, Ahn Il-hwan, etc.).

A government official said, "The sense of crisis that no further delays can be afforded regarding various industrial and economic adversities occurring toward the end of the term is likely reflected," adding, "The fact that many Ministry of Economy and Finance officials already occupy key positions in the Blue House economic policy control tower may have influenced the decision." Another official explained, "There seems to be an underlying recognition that not only the urea solution and supply chain crisis must be managed, but also that policies on nuclear power and carbon neutrality should not be further sidelined due to opposition from the opposition party."

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