Yoon Appoints Ju Gi-hwan, Who Lost Proportional Election, as Special Advisor on Livelihood Issues

President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Joo Ki-hwan, former chairman of the People Power Party's Gwangju City Committee, as the Presidential Livelihood Special Advisor on the 21st.

The Presidential Office spokesperson announced through a press release on the same day, stating, "Joo Ki-hwan has been appointed as the Presidential Livelihood Special Advisor." The Presidential Office immediately presented the letter of appointment to Special Advisor Joo.

The Livelihood Special Advisor is a newly created position, described by the Presidential Office as a role to "assist in discovering livelihood issues and checking follow-up measures from livelihood forums."

Special Advisor Joo is a former prosecutor investigator and is considered a close aide who worked alongside President Yoon at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office from 2003 to 2005. They also worked together when Joo was dispatched to the Central Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2011.

When President Yoon was demoted to the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office in 2014 due to the National Intelligence Service's comment investigation, he visited Special Advisor Joo, who was working at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and met with him.

Notably, Special Advisor Joo served as a secretary to President Yoon after he stepped down as Prosecutor General in March 2021 and handled schedule-related tasks during the presidential campaign. He was later appointed as a senior advisor to the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee.

In the June 2022 local elections held after President Yoon's inauguration, Joo ran as the candidate for Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City and became the first candidate from a conservative party to exceed the 15% threshold required for full reimbursement of election expenses.

However, in the proportional representation list announced by the People Power Party's satellite party, People’s Future, Special Advisor Joo was placed 24th, outside the likely winning range of 20th, which led him to announce his withdrawal from the candidacy on the 18th in protest.

On the 20th, People’s Future re-approved a proportional representation candidate list adjusted to include Honam region figures and party officials within the winning range, but Special Advisor Joo was excluded from the list.

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