Yoon Holds Back on Reform Remarks... Presidential Office to Announce Revamp Plan as Early as the 7th

Possibility of Announcing Key Appointments Including Political Secretaries 1 and 2... "Accelerating National Tasks with the 2nd Presidential Office After the Holiday"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Presidential Office is expected to announce the first round of personnel reshuffle results as early as the 7th, but President Yoon Seok-yeol remained tight-lipped about it. The successors for key vacant positions such as Political Secretary 1 and 2 have already been decided, but the official announcement timing may be adjusted due to variables like discussions on typhoon response measures.

On his way to the Yongsan Presidential Office that day, President Yoon avoided direct answers to questions about the personnel reshuffle, saying, "I will not comment on that today. Please only ask about the typhoon." He also unusually only took questions related to the typhoon the previous day, signaling his intention to focus all efforts on typhoon damage recovery.

Inside the Presidential Office, it is anticipated that Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi will announce the personnel reshuffle results, including Political Secretary 1 and 2, in the afternoon. A Presidential Office official explained, "This is the result of the reshuffle to be prioritized before Chuseok. However, due to variables such as the need to establish damage countermeasures for the typhoon, which the Presidential Office must address first, the schedule may be adjusted."

The successors for Political Secretary 1 and 2 have already been confirmed. Former lawmaker Jeon Hee-kyung and Jang Kyung-sang, Secretary-General of the National Management Research Institute, reported to the Presidential Office the day before and held introductory meetings. Former lawmaker Jeon was elected as a proportional representative for the Saenuri Party in the 20th National Assembly and served as the floor deputy leader and spokesperson for the Saenuri Party and Liberty Korea Party. Secretary-General Jang served as the strategic planning team leader for Park Geun-hye’s campaign during the 18th presidential election and was a senior administrative officer at the Blue House’s Office for National Policy Planning during the Park Geun-hye administration.

In addition to Political Secretary 1 and 2, reshuffle work has been carried out across various fields including political affairs, public communication, public relations, and civil society. Including those who have already left the Presidential Office, a total of about 50 personnel changes are expected. Most of the administrative officers targeted for replacement were reportedly recommended by politicians or had previously worked in the Presidential Transition Committee.

The Presidential Office plans to complete the first round of reshuffle before Chuseok and officially launch the second-term Presidential Office after the holiday to accelerate the implementation of government tasks. A senior Presidential Office official stated, "Among the government tasks announced by the President, there are still issues that have not been revised, so in the second half of the year, we will try to create a foundation to focus on policy development." However, additional personnel pruning and overall organizational restructuring are expected to continue even after the holiday. Chief Secretary Kim also recently told reporters, "The organization is a living organism that changes as needed," indicating that changes to the current organizational structure may occur at any time.

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