Senior Policy Planning Officer Lee Gwan-seop Appointed... Senior Public Relations Officer Kim Eun-hye & 2nd Deputy Director of Security Office Lim Jong-deuk

Kim Eun-hye, the new Chief of Public Relations (from the left), Lee Kwan-seop, Chief of Policy Planning, and Lim Jong-deuk, Deputy Director of the National Security Office, are attending the briefing on personnel reshuffle by Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 21st. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] President Yoon Suk-yeol has established a new Chief of Policy Planning position and appointed Lee Gwan-seop, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, to the role. Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye was appointed as the new Presidential Spokesperson, while the existing Chief Spokesperson Choi Young-beom will serve as a Special Advisor for External Cooperation, supporting overall government public relations work.

On the 21st, Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi announced some staff reshuffles at a briefing room in the Yongsan Government Complex.

New Spokesperson Kim Eun-hye served as the spokesperson during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition period. A former MBC reporter and anchor, she also served as the second spokesperson at the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2010. She ran for Governor of Gyeonggi Province in the June 1 local elections and narrowly lost by 0.15 percentage points to Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon.

Chief Secretary Kim said, "She is a person with the highest expertise in publicity and media. Having served as the head of the election campaign press office and spokesperson during the transition period, she has a deep understanding of the President’s governance philosophy and is the right person to properly convey information and communicate in the operation of government philosophy and tasks going forward."

New Chief of Policy Planning Lee Gwan-seop retired from public office in 2016 after serving as Director-General of the Energy Resources Office and Industrial Policy Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, finishing as Vice Minister. He also served as President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and held outside director positions at E-Mart and SKC.

Chief Secretary Kim explained, "He is recognized not only for his planning and coordination abilities across the entire government but also for his political acumen. He is the right person to facilitate smoother communication and understanding among ministries, the Presidential Office, and the public, leading the realization of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s core government tasks."

New Deputy Director of the National Security Office Lim Jong-deuk is a graduate of the 42nd class of the Korea Military Academy and has served as Chief of Staff at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commander of the 17th Army Division. He worked as the Defense Secretary at the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration in 2016. The Deputy Director position, responsible for overseeing overall defense matters, had been vacant since former Deputy Director Shin In-ho resigned abruptly earlier this month for personal reasons.

Chief Secretary Kim said, "He has held key positions at the Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff and is recognized as a top expert and policy specialist in defense policy and military strategy."

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