South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in announced his picks for the prime minister and three positions in the presidential secretariat through a press briefing, within a few hours of being sworn into office.
President Moon announces picks for prime minister, chief of staff (Yonhap)
Moon picked South Jeolla Province Gov. Lee Nak-yon as his new prime minister. Lee, 64, is a former journalist and four-term lawmaker affiliated with Moon’s Democratic Party of Korea.
Suh Hoon, 63, was named chief of the National Intelligence Service. Suh, who has worked for the nation’s spy agency for 28 years, is a veteran agent who specializes in North Korean affairs. He represented South Korea in the inter-Korea summits on two occasions under past liberal administrations.
The two nominees, to be appointed, must undergo a parliamentary confirmation process.
For the position of the chief of the presidential secretariat, Moon appointed Im Jong-seok, 51, who was Moon’s chief of staff during his campaign. The two-term lawmaker also served as the deputy mayor of Seoul to Moon’s key ally outside the parliament, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
Moon also tapped Ju Young-hoon, 61, as chief of the Presidential Security Service. He has taken various roles in the presidential office’s security team for over 33 years. He served as the deputy president for Moon’s team to design election pledges.
The two don‘t require parliamentary consent to confirm their designation.
Suh Hoon (left) named as the chief of the National Intelligence Service and Joo Young-hoon (right) as Chief Presidential Security Officer. (Yonhap)
The announcement came shortly after Moon began his presidency, reflecting his firm resolve to normalize state affairs that have been put on hold following the ouster of his predecessor Park Geun-hye.
By Ock Hyun-ju (
laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)