Yoon Appoints Lee Gyun-yong as New Chief Justice... One-Point Cabinet Reshuffle with Industry Minister (Comprehensive)

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President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated Lee Gyun-yong, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, as the candidate for the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the 22nd. On the same afternoon, President Yoon is also expected to make a minor cabinet reshuffle, including replacing the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. Considering President Yoon's negative stance on 'reshuffles for the sake of political momentum' since his inauguration, this is interpreted as a 'one-point' reshuffle targeting areas of government tasks that are progressing slowly.

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the morning and officially announced the candidate for the next Chief Justice after completing personnel verification. Chief of Staff Kim evaluated, "Judge Lee has devoted himself solely to trials and research for 32 years as a traditional judge," adding, "He received the Disability Rights Stepping Stone Award for rulings that significantly expanded the rights of persons with disabilities, and has led the advancement of human rights for socially vulnerable groups through rulings that protect workers' rights and broadly recognize individuals' portrait rights." He continued, "Based on his extensive trial experience, he listens to diverse voices and is judged to be the right person to lead the judiciary grounded in principles, justice, and common sense."

Candidate Lee is originally from Haman, Gyeongnam, graduated from Busan Jungang High School and Seoul National University Law School, and was appointed as a judge through the 16th Judicial Research and Training Institute. He has served as a Supreme Court Judicial Researcher, Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, Chief Judge of the Gwangju High Court and Seoul High Court, Chief Judge of the Seoul Southern District Court, and Chief Judge of the Daejeon High Court. Last year, he was already recommended as the first Supreme Court Justice candidate under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, being nominated as a successor to Justice Kim Jae-hyung.

Candidate Lee is classified as a representative conservative judge within the judiciary. One of the reasons President Yoon ultimately nominated Lee was the judgment that the judiciary system established under Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo's leadership was not functioning normally. The problem lies with the National Assembly. Candidate Lee must obtain the consent of a majority of attending members after a confirmation hearing in the National Assembly. Given the current situation of a National Assembly with a minority ruling party, the intentions of opposition parties such as the Democratic Party of Korea remain the biggest variable in this process.

New Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-yong, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court (left), and new Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy nominee Bang Moon-kyu, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

In the afternoon, the replacement of Lee Chang-yang as Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy is expected. Current Minister Visit Byung-gyu of the Office for Government Policy Coordination has been nominated as the candidate for the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, while Bang Ki-seon, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is nominated as the successor for the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and Ko Gi-dong, Administrative Mayor of Sejong City, is nominated as the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. A replacement for Lee Sang-rae, Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency, is also anticipated.

Speculation about the replacement of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy has been ongoing for several months. Due to the slow progress of major government tasks in industrial sectors such as nuclear power ecosystem restoration, President Yoon appointed Kang Kyung-sung, Presidential Secretary for Industrial Policy, as the Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy in May as groundwork. A day before the vice minister appointment, President Yoon's message, "If the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy remains stuck in ideological environmental policies like nuclear phase-out and fails to align with the new government policy direction, taking ambiguous stances, take bold personnel actions," was interpreted as a message directed at the minister with low implementation rates.

This is also seen as a move to accelerate follow-up measures in the industrial sector following President Yoon's overseas visits, including the restoration of Korea-Japan relations and the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit. The meetings among the heads of state of Korea, Japan, and the U.S. require industrial sectors of each country to form cooperative bodies and push forward agendas and implementation, so now the new leadership is entrusted with the mission to change the overall atmosphere.

President Yoon's selection of Director Bang as the new Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy aligns with this context. Director Bang has been implementing President Yoon's 'removal of sandbags' theory across various sectors since the beginning of the administration. Given that the current Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy faces the need to revise industrial regulations domestically and internationally, the role of Director Bang, who coordinated inter-ministerial issues as the first head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is being maximized.

Personnel action regarding Lee Sang-rae, Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency, is also expected on the same day. While some analyses suggest the replacement timing is imminent, there is stronger emphasis on this being a measure to hold him accountable for the Gungpyeong 2 Underpass disaster in Osong-eup, Cheongju City. It is reported that there was no disagreement on the need for swift personnel action to promote the Yoon administration's government tasks of strengthening the administrative capital function and balanced regional development.

Although President Yoon's personnel philosophy is "not to conduct reshuffles for the sake of political momentum," the political circle analyzes that follow-up appointments holding responsibility for incidents such as the Saemangeum Jamboree disaster are necessary. However, in the case of the Saemangeum incident, audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection on central government ministries and local governments are underway, so the current system is expected to continue for the time being.

The appointment of Lee Dong-gwan, candidate for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, which has become a major political issue, is expected around the 24th. The ruling and opposition parties failed to agree on holding a plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee to adopt the hearing report on the candidate the day before. President Yoon is known to appoint candidate Lee as the new Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission on the 23rd, coinciding with the end of Acting Chairman Kim Hyo-jae's term.

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