President-elect Yoon's Surprise Appointment of Han Dong-hoon... Finalizing the Second Cabinet Lineup (Comprehensive)

Kim Dae-gi, Former Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief, Appointed as First Secretary to the President... "An Economic Expert with Political Insight"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol on the 13th made a surprise appointment of Han Dong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute (Chief Prosecutor), as the first Minister of Justice candidate. He announced a total of eight appointments, including Kim In-cheol, former president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education; Park Jin, member of the National Assembly, as Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Kwon Young-se, member of the National Assembly, as Minister of Unification. The appointments for the Ministers of Employment and Labor and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs were postponed. With this, appointments for 16 out of the 18 ministries have been completed. However, Ahn Cheol-soo faction figures, who were considered for cabinet positions, were excluded again in the second round of appointments following the first. Political circles anticipate that conflicts in forming a coalition government may intensify.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, after announcing the second cabinet at the transition office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, on the 13th, said he would take only one question from reporters as he headed out for an external schedule. Photo by Transition Office Press Photographers Group

◆Second Cabinet Appointments... Announcement of 8 Ministerial Candidates= President-elect Yoon announced the second round of cabinet appointments at 2 p.m. at the transition committee press conference in Tongui-dong, Seoul.

First, Kim In-cheol, former president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, was nominated as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education; Park Jin, member of the People Power Party, as Minister of Foreign Affairs; Kwon Young-se, member of the People Power Party, as Minister of Unification; Han Dong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, as Minister of Justice; Lee Sang-min, former Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, as Minister of the Interior and Safety; Han Hwa-jin, honorary research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute, as Minister of Environment; Cho Seung-hwan, former president of the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion, as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries; and Lee Young, member of the People Power Party, as Minister of SMEs and Startups. Kim Dae-gi, former Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House, was nominated as Chief of the Presidential Secretariat.

As with the first cabinet announcement, President-elect Yoon personally explained the reasons behind the nominations. Regarding Kim In-cheol, nominated as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, he said, "Candidate Kim served as president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies for eight years since 2014 and chaired the Korean Council for University Education. He has worked to expose and correct chronic problems in Korean education and is an educator who voiced reformist opinions on the Ministry of Education, which has reached its limits due to uniform education policies."

Regarding Park Jin, nominated as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was described as "a four-term lawmaker with a diplomatic background, who served as chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee of the National Assembly, president of the Korea-UK Association, and president of the Korea-US Association, making him one of the top authorities in diplomacy and security." He added, "Based on his diverse experience in diplomatic fields, candidate Park is expected to play a significant role in normalizing South Korea's stalled diplomacy and helping the country emerge as a global pivotal state that fulfills its responsibilities and solidarity in the international community."

Regarding Kwon Young-se, nominated as Minister of Unification, he said, "Candidate Kwon, a four-term lawmaker with a legal background, is a seasoned politician who has maintained a centrist pragmatic line within the party, led reforms, and mediated various internal conflicts. He is expected to play a major role in resolving North Korea's nuclear issues and managing the Korean Peninsula situation stably."

President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is announcing the second cabinet at the transition team's briefing room in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Transition Team Press Corps

◆Surprise Pick Han Dong-hoon... Yoon: "Not a Radical Appointment"= The figure attracting the most attention in the second cabinet appointments was Han Dong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. President-elect Yoon explained Han's nomination as Minister of Justice by saying, "Candidate Han has accumulated expertise over more than 20 years in key positions within the Ministry of Justice and prosecution, covering investigation, trials, prosecutorial systems, and legal administration. He is the right person to modernize legal administration and establish a judicial system that meets global standards."

When reporters asked why Han was a surprise pick for Minister of Justice, Yoon responded, "Candidate Han is the best fit to handle legal administration not only in investigation and trial law enforcement but also through planning tasks within the prosecution. This is absolutely not a radical appointment."

Han, a leading special prosecutor within the prosecution, investigated cases related to the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations during his time as the 3rd Deputy Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, as well as the judicial administration abuse case during Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae's tenure. President-elect Yoon is known to have described Han to his close aides as "a prosecutor who wouldn't listen even if I asked," highlighting his strong-willed nature.

Han is a close aide of Yoon within the prosecution. After Yoon became Prosecutor General, Han was promoted to Chief Prosecutor and served as head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Since the investigation of Cho Kuk by the special prosecution team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during Han's tenure, he has been demoted four times. Recently, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared him of charges related to the Channel A case.

When asked whether he would exercise investigative command authority over specific cases as Minister of Justice, Han replied, "I have experienced the harm caused by the exercise of investigative command authority during the tenures of Ministers Park Beom-gye and Choo Mi-ae. Even as minister, I will not exercise investigative command authority over specific cases."

Regarding criticism that Han, who is from the 27th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, seven classes junior to Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo of the 20th class, was nominated as Minister of Justice, Han emphasized, "(I am) almost 50 years old and have about 20 years of public service. The class system is a trivial matter from the public's perspective. Based on my experience, I will do my best with courage and dedication."

On the Democratic Party's push for the "complete separation of investigation and prosecution" (검수완박) bill, Han said, "검수완박 is unprecedentedly opposed by all reasonable legal professionals, the media, and academia. I have never seen such unanimous opposition in a public forum. Even the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy opposes it. If this bill passes, the public will suffer. Attempts to pass this bill must be stopped. I will consider countermeasures gradually." Regarding the permanent special prosecutor system, he said, "It depends on what authority would be exercised. I will look into it further."

◆Presidential Secretariat Appointments Begin... Chief of Staff is 'Economic Expert'= Kim Dae-gi, former Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House, was appointed as Chief of the Presidential Secretariat. With the announcement of the first secretariat appointment, the process of staffing the secretariat is expected to accelerate.

Kim previously served as Director of the Budget Office at the Ministry of Planning and Budget, Commissioner of Statistics Korea, and 2nd Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as Presidential Chief Secretary for Economic Affairs and Chief of Policy Office. He also served as Economic Policy Secretary at the Blue House during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. President-elect Yoon described Kim as "a career economic bureaucrat who started public service after passing the administrative examination and served in the Budget Office and Administrative Budget Bureau of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, as well as Commissioner of Statistics Korea. He has a rare career path, rising from administrative officer at the Presidential Secretariat to senior administrative officer, economic policy secretary, chief secretary for economic affairs, and chief of policy office." He added, "Kim is an economic expert with excellent political acumen and is the right person to support the successful governance of the new administration based on his many years of public service experience and expertise."

He also highly evaluated the expertise of the other ministerial candidates. Regarding Kim In-cheol, candidate for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, he said, "He is the right person to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era through education reform and innovation in higher education, designing fair educational opportunities and diversity for the growing younger generation."

Regarding Lee Sang-min, candidate for Minister of the Interior and Safety, he said, "As a judge-turned-lawyer, he has accumulated rare and diverse administrative experience. He is the right person to implement transparent and efficient public personnel management and administration with clear principles and predictable standards."

Regarding Han Hwa-jin, candidate for Minister of Environment, he said, "She is the right person to design sustainable administrative policies based on social consensus, moving away from regulation-centered environmental policies." Regarding Cho Seung-hwan, candidate for Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, he said, "He is the right person to draft the blueprint for a new maritime power focused on marine fisheries development and global logistics." Regarding Lee Young, candidate for Minister of SMEs and Startups, he said, "As a former venture entrepreneur, he co-designed the vision for a digital data hegemon nation with me during the presidential campaign. He is the right person to support the further leap and growth of small and medium-sized venture enterprises, which are the source of the economy and jobs."

Meanwhile, President-elect Yoon indicated that the appointment plan for the Financial Services Commission chairman would be reviewed later. He said, "The Financial Services Commission chairman is not a subject for a hearing request to the National Assembly while I am president-elect. I will review it after other appointments have progressed and are somewhat finalized."

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