President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday tapped six vice ministers of key government departments, as a fill-in measure while minister nominees await the parliament’s approval on their appointment.
In contrast to minister nominees, who are mostly from outside the organization which they are set to lead, the vice ministers were picked from within.
From left are Ko Hyoung-kwon, Park Choon-ran, Cho Hyun, Chun Hae-sung, Shim Bo-kyun and Maeng Sung-kyu (Yonhap)
Ko Hyoung-kwon, director at the Asian Development Bank, was named vice minister of strategy and finance, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
“Ko is a former public servant with expertise in financial policy planning and knowledge in international fiscal affairs,” said Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s chief press secretary, in a briefing.
Since passing the state civil service examination in 1986, the 54-year-old official has mostly served in the Finance Ministry, focusing on policy coordination.
Ko will work under Kim Dong-yeon, if the latter’s appointment as deputy prime minister and finance minister is approved at the National Assembly’s general meeting on June 7.
The presidential office said earlier in the morning that it may move on to vice ministerial personnel announcements, as the confirmation of minister nominees may take some time.
Unlike minister nominees, the vice ministers will assume their posts without a parliamentary confirmation hearing.
Since the kickoff of the Moon administration, some key nominees have been facing challenges over what the opposition political camp views as flaws, citing Moon’s previous vow for integrity.
As foreign vice minister, the Blue House picked Cho Hyun, the nation’s envoy to India and former coordinator in multilateral talks.
“Cho is an authentic diplomat with experience and expertise in multilateral diplomacy,” Yoon said.
The new vice minister will be working in partnership with Kang Kyung-wha, whose nomination as foreign minister is to undergo a confirmation hearing and final approval next week.
Taking the post of unification vice minister was Chun Hae-sung, former spokesperson and chief of the Special Office for Inter-Korean Dialogue. Since 2014, he has been serving as chairman of the ministry-affiliated South and North Korea Exchange and Cooperation Support Association.
Park Choon-ran, Shim Bo-kyun and Maeng Sung-kyu -- all incumbent senior officials in their departments -- were respectively named vice education minister, vice interior minister and vice land minister, according to the Blue House.
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)