Yoon: "From Now On, the Focus of State Affairs Is the Economy"... Cabinet Reshuffle Targeting 'State Tasks' (Comprehensive)

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President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 22nd nominated Moon Beom-gyu, the Minister for Government Policy Coordination, as the new Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. As a follow-up, Bang Ki-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was appointed as the new Minister for Government Policy Coordination, and Kim Byung-hwan, the Economic and Financial Secretary of the Presidential Office, was appointed as the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. This personnel appointment reflects President Yoon's policy direction that "the center of state affairs is now the economy," and is close to a 'one-point' reshuffle targeting areas of state affairs where progress has been slow.

Kim Dae-gi, Chief Secretary to the President, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon to announce the appointments for the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Minister for Government Policy Coordination, and others. Kim said, "Candidate Moon Beom-gyu is a career bureaucrat who passed the 28th Administrative Examination and has served as the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea," adding, "Based on his broad understanding of overall state affairs and excellent coordination skills, he is judged to be the right person to effectively promote key state tasks in the field of trade, industry, and energy, such as fostering core strategic industries, regulatory innovation, and export promotion." Regarding the next Minister for Government Policy Coordination, Bang Ki-seon, who was nominated, Kim evaluated, "He is a career economic bureaucrat who passed the 34th Administrative Examination, served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and as a director at the Asian Development Bank. With his rich experience in policy coordination, he is expected to rationally coordinate current state affairs and push forward major state tasks with speed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Accordingly, the vacant position of the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be filled by Kim Byung-hwan, the current Economic and Financial Secretary of the Presidential Office. Ko Ki-dong, the current Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Sejong Special Self-Governing City, will become the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Lee Sang-rae, who resigned due to responsibility for the 'Osong Underpass Disaster,' was replaced by Kim Hyung-ryeol, Chairman of the Mechanical Equipment Construction Mutual Aid Association, as the new Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency.

Speculation about the replacement of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy had been ongoing for several months. Due to the slow progress in major industrial state tasks such as restoring the nuclear power ecosystem, President Yoon had been preparing by appointing Kang Kyung-sung, Presidential Office Industrial Policy Secretary, as the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in May. A day before the vice minister appointment, President Yoon's message, "If you are stuck in ideological environmental policies like nuclear phase-out and fail to align with the new state policy direction or take ambiguous stances, take bold personnel actions," was interpreted as a message directed at the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, whose implementation rate was low.

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. With meetings among the leaders of Korea, Japan, and the U.S. as an opportunity, the industrial sectors of each country need to form cooperative bodies and push forward agendas and implementation. Now, the task is to entrust the new leadership to change the overall atmosphere.

A senior official at the Presidential Office acknowledged the criticism that Korea's economic leadership is filled only with personnel from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, saying, "Politically, it is true that two of them are from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, so there was some burden." However, the official added, "The President has said that 'the center of state affairs is now the economy,' so he brought in someone who has long experience in the Ministry of Economy and Finance. As the need to connect entire ministries rather than individual ministry tasks increases, we brought in someone with extensive experience and strong coordination skills."

President Yoon's choice of candidate Bang for the new Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy is in the same context. Since the beginning of the government, Bang has implemented President Yoon's theory of abolishing the 'sandbag' in various fields. Given that the current Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy faces the task of revising industrial regulations domestically and internationally, Bang, who coordinated inter-ministerial issues as the first Minister for Government Policy Coordination, is expected to maximize his role. Bang, who visited the Yongsan Presidential Office that day, said, "As the global economy rapidly changes, uncertainties in our economy's trade, investment environment, and energy resources are increasing. I feel a strong sense of responsibility for the heavy task ahead. I will devote myself to ensuring that our industries and companies lead the global market."

Appointments for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Environment, which were also mentioned as targets for reshuffle along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, were not made this time. A senior official at the Presidential Office explained, "There are no immediate plans to make additional appointments consecutively in August." However, the appointment of Lee Dong-gwan, a candidate for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who has become a major political issue, is expected around the 24th. The ruling and opposition parties failed to agree on holding a full 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 plan to appoint Lee as the new Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission on the 23rd, when Acting Chairman Kim Hyo-jae's term ends.

Newly appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Candidate Bang Moon-gyu (left) and newly appointed Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Bang Ki-seon are attending the briefing on political appointments held on the 22nd at the briefing room of the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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