Kim, newly appointed minister of future creation and science, is an entrepreneur-turned-policymaker who has served much of his career overseas.
Kim, 53, is the president of Bell Labs and chief strategy officer of Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent.
Born in Seoul, he relocated to the U.S. when he was 15 years old and studied electrical engineering and computer science at Johns Hopkins University and holds a doctorate degree in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland.
Kim is an entrepreneur who started by setting up Yurie Systems, a high-tech communications equipment company, in 1992.
With Lucent acquiring the firm for $1 billion due to its technology, he joined Lucent Technologies in 1998.
Kim left Lucent in 2001 to join the University Maryland faculty, but was tapped as the president of Bell Labs in 2005.
He was the first company outsider to head Bell Labs. Bell Labs is a research institute at which 13 scientists have won a total of seven Nobel Prizes in physics.
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)
Kim Jeong-hoon, Future and science
Ryoo Kihl-jae, Unification
Ryoo, 54, is one of the driving forces behind President-elect Park Geun-hye’s North Korea policy aimed at symmetrizing reengagement and deterrence with a focus on trust.
The scholar was nominated as chief of inter-Korean affairs to be tasked with tiding over the country’s biggest security crisis in years following the rogue neighbor’s nuclear test last week.
Another daunting mission in store is to restore and empower the ministry that has taken a hit from strained inter-Korean relations over much of the last five years.
Known as a rare “rational conservative,” he has stressed the need to build trust between the two Koreas through dialogue and personnel exchanges in line with Park’s trademark “trustpolitik” mantra.
Ryoo is a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul and chairs the Korean Association of North Korean studies.
He is one of the members of the transition team’s foreign relations and unification subcommittee and a founding member of the National Future Institute established by Park in 2010.
(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
Lee Dong-phil, Agriculture
Lee, president of the Korea Rural Economic Institute, was named agriculture minister for the incoming Park Geun-hye administration.
Lee, 58, is an expert in local and overseas farming policies who has written up to 70 different dissertations on the subject until 2011.
Born in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in farming business from Yeungnam University, Seoul National University and Missouri State University.
He then officially started his career at the state-run Korea Rural Economic Institute beginning in 1980, serving various research positions during his 18 years.
Kim moved on to work at a U.N. organization in 1996 and also at a group affiliated with the presidential office later.
In 2000, he served as the information management chief at the KREI as well as other key positions.
He has headed the research institute since 2011.
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)
Yoon Sang-jick, Industry and trade
Yoon, vice minister for industry and technology, was named as the Park Geun-hye administration’s first minister of industry, trade and energy.
Having served major posts at the ministry and its affiliated organizations, the bureaucrat also worked as President Lee Myung-bak’s secretary for knowledge economy before taking his current job in 2011.
His past positions include director of industrial policy, investment policy and exports, secretary-general of the Electricity Regulatory Commission, director general for energy industries, industry and knowledge economy and standing member of the Korean Trade Commission.
Known for his amicable personality and emphasis on communication over giving high-handed orders, Yoon is highly respected by his subordinates.
Born in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, Yoon graduated from Busan High School and Seoul National University with a major in international trade.
(sophie@heraldcorp.com)
Chin Young, Health and welfare
Chin, 62, a three-term lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party, is one of the closest aides to President-elect Park Geun-hye.
Chin, who became a lawmaker in 2004, helped develop Park’s campaign as vice chairman for the Committee to Pursue People’s Happiness, overseeing the drafting of her key pledges, including a new pension scheme for senior citizens.
A native of Gochang, South Gyeongsang Province, Chin majored in law at Seoul National University, and passed the national bar exam in 1975.
Chin, who served as a judge at Seoul Southern District Court, entered politics in 1997 as an adviser to Lee Hoi-chang, then presidential candidate of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the Saenuri Party.
He later served as chief of staff to Park from 2004-2005 while she was serving as the Saenuri Party’s chairwoman.
The judge-turned-politician, who also worked as chief policymaker of the party, is considered one of key pro-Park members, and regarded as reticent and cautious. He is also vice chairman of the president-elect’s transition committee.
(596story@heraldcorp.com)
Yoon Seong-kyu, Environment
Yoon, 56, an expert in environmental engineering, has more than 20 years of experience in the Environmental Ministry and affiliated institutions.
A native of Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Yoon first began his civil service career at the construction ministry in 1975.
He also worked at the cultural ministry after passing the state exam for technical administrative service in 1977, and then served for nearly two decades from 1987-2004 at the environment ministry.
From 2005 to 2008, he took the helm of the National Institute of Environmental Research, and also worked at the state-run Korea Meteorological Service before becoming a professor of environmental engineering research institute at Hanyang University.
He first began working for President-elect Park as a special advisor during her election campaign in July 2012, and since then has been taking a leading role in shaping her environment and energy policies.
(596story@heraldcorp.com)
Phang Ha-nam, Employment and labor
Phang, 56, is a renowned scholar whose work focuses on labor market policy, retirement pensions and income security.
A native of Seoul, Phang graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and received a master’s in sociology at Vanderbilt University in the U.S. and doctorate in the same field at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He has worked for the state-run Korea Labor Institute since 1995, researching pension schemes and policy development.
During this time, he has published number of books, including “Labor Market Changes and Labor Policy Issues in Aging Society” and “A Study on the Balanced Development of Public and Private Pension Systems.”
Presently, he is a senior fellow at the Korea Labor Institute and also serves as the second president of Korean Pension Association, focusing on both public and private pension systems to improve old-age income security. He is a member of a special advisory group for the presidential transition committee’s subcommittee for labor polices.
(596story@heraldcorp.com)
Cho Yoon-sun, Gender equality
Cho, 47, was the first spokeswoman of the Grand National Party which is now the Saenuri Party, and the longest-serving spokesperson for the conservative party. She is now President-elect Park Geun-hye’s spokesperson and one of her most trusted aides.
Born in 1966, Cho studied international relations at Seoul National University and passed the bar exam. Later, she earned an LLM degree at Columbia Law School in New York. Cho became the first female lawyer to be hired by Kim & Chang, the nation’s largest law firm.
She later served as the vice chairman of the Seoul office of Citibank. Cho entered politics in 2002 as the spokesperson for conservative presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party, the predecessor to the Saenuri Party. She earned a seat in the National Assembly in 2008 as a proportional representative. She participated in passing Korea’s Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.
She is married to her college sweetheart and is the mother of two daughters.
(songhoon@heraldcorp.com)
Suh Seoung-hwan, Land and transportation
Suh, economics professor at Yonsei University and member of the presidential transition committee’s subcommittee for economy, was named the first minister of land and transportation under the Park Geun-hye administration.
His late father Suh Jong-chul was former minister of defense, presidential aide for national security and Army chief of staff under Park’s father, former president Park Chung-hee.
Born in Seoul, the minister nominee graduated from Yonsei University and earned his doctorate from Princeton University in 1985.
Having designed President-elect Park Geun-hye’s policy plans to rescue the “house poor” and “rent poor,” Suh is expected to lead Park’s market-oriented real estate policies.
He has headed various academic organizations including Yonsei’s Economic Research Institute, and served on the Land Ministry’s urban planning and property policy committees.
(sophie@heraldcorp.com)
Yoon Jin-sook, Maritime and fisheries
Yoon, 58, director of marine policy research at Korea Maritime Institute, will head the new Maritime and Fisheries Ministry to be created under Park’s government.
Yoon would become the nation’s first single female minister if she passes the parliamentary confirmation hearing.
Recognized for both smooth leadership and flexibility, Yoon has accumulated a rich experience and professionalism in the field of marine-related policymaking and law. Her ability to coordinate with international counterparts adds to her qualifications for the post, the transition team said.
Born and raised in Busan, Yoon may reflect the new administration’s measure to appease the Busan voters, observers said.
Yoon earned her bachelor’s in geography education at Busan Women’s University and her master’s and doctor’s degrees in geography at Kyung Hee University.
(joowonc@heraldcorp.com)
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