President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday named SBS TV executive Choe Guem-nak as his top aide for public relations, hours after his predecessor went behind bars on charges of bribery.

Hailing from Yeoju in Gyeonggi Province, Choe worked as a reporter at MBC before moving to SBS TV where he served as Washington correspondent, editor and executive.

Lee met Choe when he was serving as Washington correspondent for SBS TV in the late 1990s.

Choe entered Seoul National University in 1976, the same year as his predecessors Lee Dong-gwan and Kim Du-woo. Choe is known to be close friends with Lee Dong-gwan, now special advisor to the president for public relations, as well as Presidential Chief-of-Staff Yim Tae-hee.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)