President Yoon, Only Women Nominated Just Two Days After 'Women First' Remark (Comprehensive)

Education Park Soon-ae · Welfare Kim Seung-hee... Will the 'Merit-Based' Personnel Policy Change?

On the 26th, President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated Park Soon-ae, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Administration (from the left), as Minister of Education, and Kim Seung-hee, a former member of the National Assembly, as the candidate for Minister of Health and Welfare. Oh Yu-kyung, dean of Seoul National University's College of Pharmacy, was selected as the candidate for the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 26th, President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Professor Park Soon-ae of Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration as the Minister of Education, filling the vacancy left by the candidate's withdrawal, and former National Assembly member Kim Seung-hee as the Minister of Health and Welfare. Additionally, Oh Yoo-kyung, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University, was selected as the candidate for the Vice Minister-level position of Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. This completes the appointment of three ministerial and vice-ministerial candidates, all women, just two days after President Yoon announced his intention to boldly provide opportunities to women in public office appointments. This move is interpreted as a signal of change in President Yoon’s merit-based personnel policy.

Candidate Park was highly evaluated for her experience as a member of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee, which gave her a deep understanding of the Yoon administration’s national philosophy. She was also the first woman to serve as head of the Public Enterprise and Quasi-Governmental Institution Management Evaluation Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where she provided direction for improving the management performance of public institutions.

Former lawmaker Kim is an authority in the health and medical fields, having served as Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and as a member of the Health and Welfare Committee and Secretary of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Measures during the 20th National Assembly. The Presidential Office explained the nomination by stating, "Her experience and expertise accumulated in the field, government, and National Assembly are expected to contribute to achieving the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s health and welfare policy goals."

With the additional personnel announcements from the Presidential Office on this day, it is highly likely that the policy of prioritizing qualified women candidates will be applied to the remaining ministerial and vice-ministerial appointments. This marks the beginning of a change in the Yoon administration’s personnel policy, which had been known as merit-based and characterized by ‘Seo-O-Nam’ (Seoul National University, 50s, male). Previously, President Yoon had set a policy to prioritize women when appointing remaining ministers and vice ministers.

President Yoon had insisted on merit-based appointments since the Presidential Transition Committee period, distancing himself from policies of gender quotas and regional balancing. However, as the first cabinet was concluding, criticisms arose regarding the new government’s personnel framework, including neglect of women and the Honam region. Notably, during the U.S.-South Korea summit on the 21st, a Washington Post (WP) reporter pointed out the new government’s ‘male dominance.’

However, immediately after the U.S.-South Korea summit, President Yoon stated at a press conference, "It has not been long since fair opportunities for women began to be actively guaranteed," and added, "I intend to guarantee such opportunities more actively." Recently, at a dinner with the National Assembly leadership, he also expressed a different stance from his previous personnel policy by saying, "We will boldly provide opportunities to women in public office appointments." A Presidential Office official explained, "This does not mean appointing women unconditionally, but rather considering concerns that women have not been properly evaluated due to disadvantages during their work process."

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