Yoon Transition Team Seen Through Keywords... Gwanghwamun, Small Elite, Cooperation

Deliberating Location and Composition
to Differentiate from the Past

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is moving to meet the Chinese Ambassador to Korea at his residence in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is accelerating the launch of the Presidential Transition Committee by finalizing the secretariat appointments on the 11th and meeting with Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party. It is reported that not only a special committee for the Gwanghwamun office pledge but also a special committee for the Busan World Expo will be established within the transition committee, leading to expectations that the committee’s scale will expand beyond the original plan. As deliberations continue over the location and composition of the committee, analyses suggest it will have a different character from past transition committees. Jang Je-won, chief of staff for the president-elect, stated, “It will take about two weeks to complete the full composition of the transition committee.”

◆Will the Gwanghwamun Transition Committee be possible?= The office for the transition committee is reportedly being considered at a location other than the originally expected Samcheong-dong Financial Training Institute. The president-elect’s side plans to decide on the transition committee office soon after consulting with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Government Complex Management Headquarters. A Ministry of the Interior official said, “We have arranged to meet soon with the secretariat,” adding, “We have not yet submitted a list of candidate offices for the transition committee.”

Within the People Power Party, there are talks that the president-elect’s side is considering private buildings around Seoul Station and Gwanghwamun rather than the Financial Training Institute. This is seen as an expression of Yoon’s determination to fulfill his pledge to establish the presidential office in Gwanghwamun by considering locations in the area.

◆Practical and expert-oriented= The transition committee under President-elect Yoon is expected to take the form of a practical and expert-oriented team centered on professors, aiming to achieve maximum effect with minimal personnel. Previously, Yoon stated, “The transition committee will be small but efficient.” The Lee Myung-bak administration’s transition committee had seven divisions, while the Park Geun-hye administration’s committee consisted of nine divisions plus two special divisions: the National Unity Committee and the Youth Special Committee.

Even with a compressed structure, it is highly likely that divisions responsible for core roles such as national affairs and planning coordination, diplomacy, defense and unification, economy, education and science, and employment and welfare will be established. Professors who directly developed Yoon’s policies in the election campaign headquarters are expected to be appointed in these positions. These include Professor Kim So-young of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics, Professor Kim Kyung-hwan of Sogang University’s Department of Economics, Professor Kim Sung-han of Korea University’s Graduate School of International Studies, Professor Kim Chang-kyung of Hanyang University’s Department of New Materials Engineering, Professor Kim Hyun-sook of Soongsil University, and Professor Ahn Sang-hoon of Seoul National University’s Department of Social Welfare.

◆A transition committee for cooperation= Since a joint government with Ahn Cheol-soo has been declared, it is highly likely that some personnel from Ahn’s side will be recruited as transition committee members. Furthermore, if a person who understands the circumstances of the major opposition party well is appointed as the committee chairperson, the chairperson’s intentions are expected to be significantly reflected.

Organizations related to COVID-19 mentioned by Yoon will also be established within the transition committee, and a division or special committee capable of comprehensively handling quarantine, health, and medical issues will be created. Special committees for establishing the presidential office in Gwanghwamun and for the Busan World Expo are also expected to be set up.

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