The Three Leaders Steering the 2nd Presidential Office... Lee Gwansub, Sung Taeyoon, Jang Hojin

Presidential Office "Time for Change, Will Become Younger"
Doubts Remain Whether Different Career Backgrounds Will Harmonize Well

Lee Gwansub, Chief of Staff to the President; Sung Taeyoon, Director of the Policy Office; Jang Hojin, Director of the National Security Office (from left in the photo)

The three new chiefs of the Presidential Office (Chief of Staff, Policy Chief, and National Security Chief) have been appointed as Lee Gwan-seop, Sung Tae-yoon, and Jang Ho-jin, respectively. The lineup for the second term of the Presidential Office has been completed. Notably, the Chief of Staff and Policy Chief were appointed from the Ministry of Industry and academia, respectively. This is considered a groundbreaking personnel decision that breaks the convention of appointing officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It is analyzed that while experienced chiefs established policy agendas during the early phase of the administration, the president intends to accelerate the pace of state affairs management in the mid-term by appointing relatively younger chiefs.

Chief of Staff Lee Gwan-seop, born in 1961, is five years younger than Chief Kim Dae-gi, who specialized in budgeting and planning. He entered public service through the 27th Administrative Examination in 1983 and has consistently worked in industrial policy and energy sectors. He is known as a resolute figure who actively voiced policy opinions and handled tasks vigorously, both during his time as a government official and while working in the Presidential Office. In January 2018, while serving as the president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, he resigned with 1 year and 10 months left in his term after the Moon Jae-in administration pushed forward the nuclear phase-out policy, including the public debate on the permanent suspension of Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 5 and 6, openly expressing his opposition to the nuclear phase-out. Lee was appointed as the Senior Secretary for National Planning in August last year, recognized as a perfect fit for President Yoon’s export and nuclear revitalization policies. He directly participated in resolving the Cargo Solidarity strike, investigating subsidies to civic groups, promoting labor reform, and addressing the Jamboree incident, earning recognition for his role as a 'firefighter.'

Newly appointed Policy Chief Sung Tae-yoon was born in 1970. Compared to the previous chief Lee Gwan-seop, he is nine years younger and is an academic. Besides his direct connection as a student of the late Professor Yoon Ki-jung of Yonsei University, President Yoon’s father, it is analyzed that his active policy criticism as a market-oriented scholar was a key reason for his appointment. Sung graduated from Yonsei University’s Department of Economics, earned a master’s degree from the same school, and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. He has served as a teaching assistant at Harvard, a research fellow in the Financial Economics Team at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at KAIST, and a professor in the Department of Economics at Yonsei University. Beyond research, he has expressed opinions in media interviews and columns criticizing the Moon administration’s income-led growth and COVID-19 policies, advocating for selective and in-depth support for socially and economically vulnerable groups.

New National Security Chief Jang Ho-jin is also highly regarded as a rare figure possessing both balanced diplomatic sensibility and boldness. Born in 1961 in Seoul, Jang graduated from Seongdong High School and Seoul National University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the 16th Foreign Service Examination in 1982. He has held positions such as Director of the Eastern Europe Division, Political Counselor at the Embassy in Russia, Director and Deputy Director of the North America Bureau, Deputy Head of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Group, and Ambassador to Russia, making him an expert on the U.S., Russia, and North Korean nuclear issues. While serving as Ambassador to Russia, he demonstrated diplomatic skills by minimizing direct friction, understanding Russia’s stance of hoping that relations with South Korea would not break despite being mutual non-friendly countries. During the previous Moon Jae-in administration, when his close associates were appointed to key ambassadorial posts, he broke precedent by submitting his resignation instead of serving until retirement.

Some raise doubts about whether the new chiefs, with their diverse backgrounds and careers, will be able to work harmoniously. However, the Presidential Office expects no major confusion as it will operate based on the policy framework established by the government. A Presidential Office official stated, "All the new chiefs have shown achievements so far and have demonstrated conviction appropriate to their roles. We expect them to carry out thorough yet swift policy implementation through healthy discussions." Another official explained, "Since the government and ruling party have undergone significant changes, it was time for the Presidential Office to change as well. The ruling party’s atmosphere has shifted with the appointment of a 1970s-born emergency committee chairman and chief of staff, and the Presidential Office will also become younger."

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