Yoon Seok-yeol Mentions "Our Jang Je-won Chief Secretary" for the First Time... Considering Ahn for Transition Committee Chair

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol visited the "People Power Party 20th Presidential Election Vote Counting Situation Room" set up at the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul, early on the 10th, received a bouquet, and posed for the press. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has appointed Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party, as his Chief of Staff. Jang is known to have played a significant role in unifying the opposition by collaborating with Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party.

According to Yonhap News on the 10th, a key official from the People Power Party stated, "President-elect Yoon asked Jang to take on the role of Chief of Staff around the time his election was confirmed," adding, "You can consider the appointment finalized."

Previously, during the campaign period, Jang was referred to as a 'Yoon Core Associate' but did not hold any official position within the campaign headquarters.

However, toward the end of the election, during the phase of unifying opposition candidates with Ahn, Jang acted as President-elect Yoon’s 'full authority proxy,' leading negotiations and playing a behind-the-scenes role. The meeting place for the unification talks was reportedly the home of Jang’s brother-in-law, Professor Sung Kwang-je of KAIST, located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, who is also close to Ahn, which attracted public attention.

Additionally, Jang is said to have been actively involved in preparing a post-election roadmap based on regime change, at the request of President-elect Yoon.

On the same day (the 10th), President-elect Yoon met with Yoo Young-min, the current Presidential Chief of Staff, and Lee Cheol-hee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, where he referred to Jang Je-won as the 'Chief of Staff.'

Chief of Staff Yoo said, "Until the inauguration, there may be matters requiring close communication between President Moon Jae-in and the President-elect, so if someone is designated as a liaison with the Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, it can function like a hotline."

To this, President-elect Yoon asked, "Then wouldn’t it be possible for our Chief of Staff Jang Je-won to communicate with Senior Secretary Lee?" Senior Secretary Lee responded, "We worked together on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," and President-elect Yoon smiled, saying, "That's right. You two... I was really scolded in the middle, wasn’t I?"

Meanwhile, regarding the chairperson of the Presidential Transition Committee, there is speculation that Ahn Cheol-soo might take the position himself. Since President-elect Yoon and Ahn agreed on a unified opposition pact that includes joint operation of the transition committee and forming a joint government, it is expected that Ahn could play a key role in shaping the new administration.

However, regardless of Ahn’s willingness, it is reported that he has not yet been officially nominated as the chairperson of the transition committee. President-elect Yoon is expected to make a decision on the chairperson within this week after careful consideration.

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