DJ Government's First National Situation Room Chief Jang Sung-min Appointed as Yoon President-elect's 'Frank Advisor'

A Strategist Well-Versed in International Issues and the Korean Peninsula Problem

Former Assemblyman Jang Sung-min. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Jang Sung-min, Chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum, was appointed as Political Special Advisor to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the 16th.

Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the President-elect, announced Jang's appointment through a written briefing on the same day. Kim introduced Jang by saying, "During the People Power Party presidential primary, Jang was known for maintaining the most critical stance toward the President-elect to the extent that he was asked to exercise restraint by the primary management committee. After being eliminated in the first cut-off, the President-elect requested Jang to provide candid criticism, and it is said that he has been receiving frank advice and communicating with him throughout the presidential election period. The title of special advisor could well be called the 'Candid Criticism Special Advisor.'

Jang previously served as Political Secretary and the first Director of the National Situation Room during former President Kim Dae-jung’s administration, as well as a member of the National Assembly. He was a visiting researcher at the Duke University International Studies Institute in the United States and has presented visions and policies on the Korean Peninsula issue. He is regarded as a politician and future strategist who has contemplated and practiced the ideas of a unified Korea and the theory of a Great Korea for democratic peace and economic co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

He was jointly selected as a ‘2002 Next Generation Leader of Northeast Asia’ by the governments of South Korea, China, and Japan, and was also jointly selected as a ‘2003 Promising Figure in Korean Politics’ by the European Parliament and the European Commission.

He has actively engaged in lectures and writing on North Korean nuclear issues and peace on the Korean Peninsula as Chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum and as a director of the Korean Association of International Political Studies.

Born in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, Jang graduated from Sogang University with a degree in Political Science and Diplomacy and completed graduate studies there. He researched North Korean politics at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies and studied economics at the same university’s Graduate School of Economics. He conducted research on international politics at Korea University’s Ilmin International Relations Institute and completed the ‘Modern Britain and International Issues’ course at the International Studies Institute of St John’s College, University of Cambridge, UK. At Duke University International Studies Institute, he researched U.S. policy on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-U.S. relations, and North Korea-China relations.

In this presidential election, he joined the People Power Party and contributed to expanding its outreach. He ran as a candidate in the party’s presidential primary, aiming to expand support in Honam and the central regions, but after facing defeat in the primary, he has been advising President-elect Yoon.

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