[Exclusive] Yoon's Economic Advisor Byun Yang-gyun: "New Government Policies Focus on Basics... Too Early to Judge"

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Byun Yang-gyun, former Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House, appointed as an economic advisor to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. /

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol appoints former Blue House Policy Chief Byun Yang-gyun as an economic advisor. He is an economic bureaucrat who served as Vice Minister and Minister of the Planning and Budget Office (now Ministry of Economy and Finance) and later as Blue House Policy Chief during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. President Yoon evaluated Byun, saying, "He has long expressed a philosophy that aligns with the Fourth Industrial Revolution." The economic team within the presidential office also expects that Byun, as an economic advisor, will share his diverse experiences in responding to economic crises and provide advice to establish and implement appropriate policies.

On the 15th, Byun evaluated the new government's economic team as "young" in a phone interview with Asia Economy. Interpreting this not by age but by the approach to responding to the global economic crisis, Byun said, "They are doing well even amid a complex economic crisis. Since it is just the beginning, it is still too early to judge the success of the policies."

Regarding the Yoon administration's economic policy, he analyzed, "It seems to be faithful to the basics." He added that they are responding well by finding the basics even amid the complex global economic crisis. However, he postponed detailed judgments on the global economic situation and the new government's policy direction. Byun said, "After taking on the role of economic advisor, I will help the new government's economic team and gradually find (specific) roles."

Byun, who served as Director of Fiscal Planning Bureau, Vice Minister, and Minister of the Planning and Budget Office, is regarded as an ‘economic expert’ who essentially laid the foundation of economic policy during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. As a Blue House Policy Chief from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, he was unusually responsible for policy formulation together with the economic chief and economic policy secretary, who were also from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The Yoon administration’s economic team formation is similar. Including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, Chief Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok, and Secretary for Economic and Financial Affairs Kim Byung-hwan, all are from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. A senior official from the presidential office said, "Since President Yoon expects rapid formulation, implementation, and effects of economic policies utilizing fiscal resources, Byun’s role could go beyond that of a simple economic advisor."

In fact, President Yoon is known to have read several times Byun’s 2017 publication ‘A Shift in Economic Philosophy,’ which contained policy proposals related to labor, land, investment, and exchanges. At that time, Byun mentioned in his book, "Income-led growth theory should go hand in hand with Joseph Schumpeter-style (corporate innovation) economic policy," adding, "Schumpeter-style growth theory must be supported for long-term completion." This meant that while income-led growth promoted by the Moon Jae-in administration was necessary, emphasizing income-led growth alone in the era of global competition would undermine corporate competitiveness and ultimately dampen the overall domestic economy, so conditions must be created for companies to innovate.

President Yoon’s emphasis on Byun as "someone who has long expressed a philosophy that aligns with the Fourth Industrial Revolution in terms of innovation and supply" aligns with this. In the preface of ‘A Shift in Economic Philosophy,’ Byun stated, "The economic philosophy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era is Schumpeter-style growth policy," and "Entrepreneurs must be able to engage in creative destruction to promise future growth. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is an era desperately needing new demand creation through Schumpeter-style supply innovation."

Going forward, Byun is expected to voice opinions on economic policy formulation related to corporate innovation as an economic advisor. This includes laying the foundation to accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution by reducing corporate regulations and proposing directions to ensure fiscal resources are used properly in this process. Earlier, there was also speculation about Byun joining the newly established ‘Regulatory Innovation Promotion Team,’ which supports the President-led Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting in practical terms. Although Prime Minister Han Duck-soo did not mention Byun directly, he indirectly introduced him by saying, "We will publicly recruit someone who knows the problems of regulation, has the will to reform, but has retired without taking practical action," and "There is also someone who wrote a book in 2017 about labor reform, metropolitan area reform, and financial reform."

Another presidential office official said, "His role will not be limited to simple advice in government operations but will involve broad advisory duties, including regular discussions with the economic team and the President," adding, "(President Yoon) has high expectations in this regard."

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