Yoon Administration Completes Appointments for 16 Ministries... Average Age 59.7, Seoul National University Law School Makes Strong Showing (Comprehensive Report 2)

9 Candidates in Their 60s, 1 in Their 40s... 3 Female Candidates
7 from Yeongnam, 1 from Honam
5 Alumni from Seoul National University Law School Among Yoon's Elected, Including Close Associates and Yoon Connections Draw Attention

From the top row, left to right: Kim In-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education nominee; Park Jin, Minister of Foreign Affairs nominee; Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification nominee.
From the middle row, left to right: Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice nominee; Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety nominee; Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment nominee.
From the bottom row, left to right: Cho Seung-hwan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries nominee; Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups nominee; Kim Dae-gi, Chief Presidential Secretary. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyemin and Geum Boryeong] As President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol announced the second round of ministerial nominees on the 13th, the formation of the new government has entered its final stage. Out of the total 18 ministries, appointments for 16 ministries have been completed, and examining the nominees reveals that men in their 60s, mostly graduates of Seoul National University, dominate the lineup.

◆Average age nearing 60... only 3 women and 1 from Honam region=President-elect Yoon announced nominees for 16 ministries, excluding the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in two rounds by the 10th. The nominees are: ▲Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho ▲Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Kim In-cheol ▲Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon ▲Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min ▲Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin ▲Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop ▲Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se ▲Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun ▲Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Ho-young ▲Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook ▲Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang ▲Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong ▲Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho ▲Minister of Environment Han Hwa-jin ▲Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan ▲Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young.

The average age of these nominees is 59.7 years. There are 9 in their 60s, 6 in their 50s, and 1 in their 40s. Park Bo-gyun, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is the oldest at 68, while Han Dong-hoon, nominee for Minister of Justice, is the youngest at 49. The three women nominees are Lee Young for SMEs and Startups, Han Hwa-jin for Environment, and Kim Hyun-sook for Gender Equality and Family.

By region of origin, Yeongnam leads with 7 nominees, followed by Seoul with 4, and Chungcheong region (Daejeon and North Chungcheong) with 2. From Honam, Lee Sang-min, nominee for Minister of the Interior and Safety, from North Jeolla Province, is the only one. There are a total of 4 incumbent lawmakers among the ministerial nominees.

Regarding alma maters, Seoul National University stands out with 7 nominees, followed by Korea University with 4, Kyungpook National University with 2, and Kwangwoon University, Korea Military Academy, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies with 1 each.

From the top row, left to right: Choo Kyung-ho, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance; Lee Chang-yang, nominee for Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Won Hee-ryong, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Lee Jong-sup, nominee for Minister of National Defense.
From the bottom row, left to right: Lee Jong-ho, nominee for Minister of Science and ICT; Jung Ho-young, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare; Park Bo-gyun, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Kim Hyun-sook, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family. [Photo by Yonhap News]

◆Five from Seoul National University Law School, seniors and juniors of Yoon... Camp connections also prominent=Among the alma maters, a notable point is that many nominees graduated from Seoul National University Law School. Out of the 16 nominees, 5 (Park Jin, Kwon Young-se, Lee Sang-min, Won Hee-ryong, and Han Dong-hoon) are alumni of Seoul National University Law School and are seniors or juniors of President-elect Yoon.

Among them, Kwon Young-se, nominee for Minister of Unification, has a close connection with Yoon from their university days, having participated together in the Criminal Law Society. Yoon is known to call him "hyung" (older brother) in private. Kwon was instrumental in facilitating Yoon's entry into the People Power Party and served as the campaign headquarters chief during Yoon's candidacy. Han Dong-hoon, nominee for Minister of Justice, considered a bold appointment, is classified as a representative "Yoon Seok-yeol line" within the prosecution. He was promoted as the youngest chief prosecutor during Yoon's tenure as Prosecutor General and served as head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Lee Sang-min, nominee for Minister of the Interior and Safety, is a four-year junior of Yoon, continuing the Chungam High School and Seoul National University Law School lineage. He is known to have closely assisted Yoon since the presidential campaign. Jeong Ho-young, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, who is the same age as Yoon, is also known to have had ties since their university days.

The appointments of those who formed ties upon entering politics also attract attention. Lee Jong-ho, nominee for Minister of Science and ICT, established a connection with Yoon before Yoon declared his political participation, when Yoon visited the Seoul National University Semiconductor Joint Research Center to study semiconductors. Kim Hyun-sook, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, supported Yoon as head of the Employment and Welfare Policy Headquarters during the primary campaign. Lee Jong-seop, nominee for Minister of National Defense, also assisted Yoon by joining the foreign affairs, security, and unification policy advisory group during the primary campaign.

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