Jang Miran's First Day at Sejong Government Complex... "I Will Live Up to Your Concerns"

Criticism from Minseok An and other Democratic Party members
"Thank you for your patience and understanding" stated

Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, expressed her opinion regarding criticisms related to her.

Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is receiving a bouquet from an employee while arriving at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 4th, Vice Minister Jang, on her first commute to the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City, responded to criticisms from some opposition members including Assemblyman Ahn Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea by saying, "I will work hard as much as you are concerned," and added, "I will strive to exceed those expectations."

Employees of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism congratulated Vice Minister Jang by presenting her with bouquets on her first day at work.

Vice Minister Jang was appointed on the 29th of last month and received her certificate of appointment from President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 3rd, officially beginning her term. On the same day, she attended a Cabinet meeting and the Neulbom School program observed by President Yoon, so this was her first time commuting to the Sejong Government Complex.

Vice Minister Jang said, "Since this is my first day in Sejong, I have not yet fully grasped all the tasks," and added, "I feel a heavy responsibility with the important duties entrusted to me, but I will work hard and do my best beyond expectations."

She continued, "I would appreciate it if you could give me time and watch over me."

On the same day, Vice Minister Jang visited various departments within the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to communicate with employees. Afterwards, she began her work in her office.

Ahn Min-seok, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Earlier, regarding this appointment, Assemblyman Ahn Min-seok and others criticized, saying, "While we cannot agree with questioning her qualifications solely because she is a former elite athlete appointed as vice minister, Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran has neither shown efforts to eradicate corruption in the sports world nor demonstrated leadership to resolve the numerous pending issues and conflicts in Korean sports."

Assemblyman Ahn added, "Even during the uproar in the sports world caused by the 2019 Me Too movement involving athlete Shim Suk-hee and the death of athlete Choi Sook-hyun, Professor Jang Mi-ran remained silent," and stated, "It is absurd to appoint Jang Mi-ran, who has ignored reality, for fairness and common sense in the sports world."

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Jang, a legend in Korean weightlifting, is the third former elite athlete who has served as a national representative to be appointed as vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, following Park Jong-gil (shooting) under the Park Geun-hye administration and Choi Yoon-hee (swimming) under the Moon Jae-in administration. She is the first Olympic gold medalist to hold this position.

As an athlete, she achieved four consecutive wins at the World Weightlifting Championships from 2005 to 2009, won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Before her appointment as vice minister, she served as a professor in the Department of Physical Education at Yongin University and was active as the chairperson of the Jang Mi-ran Foundation.

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