Choi Young-beom, Former Journalist, Strong Contender for Presidential Office Chief of Public Relations

Dong-A Ilbo·SBS Criticize Hyosung Group Vice President
Multiple Candidates Under Review... Final Selection Not Yet Made

Choi Young-beom, Head of Communications at Hyosung Group = Photo by Facebook

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Choi Young-beom, head of communications (vice president) at Hyosung Group and a former journalist, is being strongly considered as the first Chief Public Relations Officer for President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.

A key aide to President-elect Yoon said on the 27th, “We are reviewing Vice President Choi, a former journalist, for the position of Chief Public Relations Officer, which is the new title replacing the current Chief Secretary for Public Communication.”

Born in Seoul, Vice President Choi is a business executive with experience working at newspapers and broadcasting companies. He graduated from Sungkyunkwan University Law School and worked as a reporter for Dong-A Ilbo starting in 1985. In 1991, he joined SBS as a founding member and held positions such as Political Chief, News Director, Head of News Headquarters, and Head of Management Support Headquarters.

Since 2018, he has served as Vice President in charge of public relations at Hyosung Group. Recently, he reportedly submitted a consent form for personnel verification to President-elect Yoon’s screening team.

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, personally interviewed Vice President Choi on behalf of President-elect Yoon. Considering his industry reputation and other factors, he was judged to be a relatively suitable candidate for the inaugural Chief Public Relations Officer.

It appears that he has smoothly passed the personnel screening, but multiple candidates are still being reviewed internally, so it may take more time before President-elect Yoon makes the final decision.

President-elect Yoon’s team is known to have faced particular difficulties in selecting the Chief Public Relations Officer.

While President-elect Yoon is known to prefer candidates from broadcasting backgrounds, 3 to 4 former and current figures from terrestrial broadcasters, comprehensive programming channels, and newspapers were mentioned, but none reached the nomination stage.

Meanwhile, additional appointments to the Presidential Office are expected to be announced as early as this weekend.

The 'five chiefs' system covering economy, society, political affairs, civil society, and public relations is likely, and the education and science chief position requested by transition committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo is unlikely to be established immediately.

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