Transition Team to Start Ministry Briefings from Tomorrow... Full Review of Nuclear Phase-Out and Real Estate Issues

Simultaneous Launch of Reports from 7 Divisions
Focus on Policy Directions Including Abolition of Ministry of Gender Equality, Nuclear Phase-Out, and Real Estate

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, Transition Committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party Leader Lee Jun-seok, and transition committee members held the plaque unveiling ceremony of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee on the morning of the 18th at the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Presidential Transition Committee will begin departmental work briefings starting tomorrow (the 21st). These briefings are expected to be the first step in reviewing the practical details related to each department's current issues and campaign pledges, laying the foundation for President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's government reorganization.

According to the Transition Committee on the 20th, the committee is expected to finalize the work briefing plan from the 21st and deliver it to each department. Seven divisions, including Planning and Coordination, Economy 1 and 2, Political Affairs, and Judicial Administration, will conduct simultaneous work briefings and are expected to complete them within next week.

The Transition Committee plans to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the key projects pursued by the current government over the past five years. They will decide whether to supplement, discontinue, continue, or strengthen each project. Policy reviews on issues such as nuclear phase-out, real estate policies, and the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will also be concretized.

The blueprint for government reorganization, considered the Transition Committee's first major task, is also taking shape. Depending on the new government's departmental composition, policy coordination and cabinet appointments will proceed sequentially. In particular, since President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol and Transition Committee Chairperson Ahn Cheol-soo are envisioning a joint government and have presented various proposals regarding government reorganization during the election campaign, attention is focused on the outcome.

The biggest issue is the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. President-elect Yoon pledged to abolish the ministry. Instead, he announced plans to establish a new department that will comprehensively handle social issues related to children, families, and population.

President-elect Yoon and Chairperson Ahn also share similar views in the field of science and technology. Yoon pledged to form a Science and Technology Committee directly under the president and to appoint science and technology experts to senior administrative positions, while Ahn pledged during his presidential candidacy to establish a Vice Prime Minister position for Science and Technology. It is strongly suggested that the current Ministry of Science and ICT will separate the science and technology sector in some form to enhance its status.

The jurisdiction over 'trade functions' is also a subject to watch. In past governments, trade functions have shifted between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Kim Dae-jung administration reorganized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and established a minister-level Trade Negotiation Headquarters, but with the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration, trade functions were transferred to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. President-elect Yoon pledged during the presidential campaign to establish an 'Emerging Security Committee' overseeing 'economic security,' and Chairperson Ahn pledged to reorganize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

President-elect Yoon plans to create a more pragmatic presidential office by significantly downsizing and reorganizing the existing Chief Secretary system at the Blue House.

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