People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo will lead the presidential transition committee, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday, in a speedy move to launch the committee for a smooth transition of power from the incumbent government.

“Ahn Cheol-soo and I share values and philosophy on state affairs management and we have already met (for discussion) after the election,” Yoon said during a press briefing on Sunday.

“Ahn is willing to lead the presidential transition committee, and I also believe he is the right person.”

Ahn had dropped out of the presidential race to declare support for Yoon. In merging their campaigns, the two sides also agreed on merging their parties.

For vice chairman of the committee, Yoon appointed Rep. Kwon Young-se, who was his campaign chief. Kwon, a four-term lawmaker with the People Power Party, is known to be friends with Yoon from college.

“Rep. Kwon Young-se has proven his competence and stable leadership. I believe he will successfully lead the government transition working together with Ahn Cheol-soo,” Yoon added.

In a statement, the People’s Party called Ahn’s appointment the first step towards a government integrating the people and also the first “achievement” of the two parties’ bilateral trust.

People‘s Party senior vice spokesperson Hong Kyung-hee also said Ahn will do his best in his role leading the transition committee in the statement.

For the chief of a planning division at the committee, Yoon tapped Won Hee-ryong, a former Jeju Provincial governor who served as the policy chief for Yoon’s campaign. The planning division would be in charge of developing Yoon’s election pledges as government tasks.

According to the president-elect, the presidential transition committee would have seven divisions. They are: planning, foreign policy and national security, politics and judiciary administration, economy, industry, society and welfare, and science, technology and education.

Two special committees include one for COVID-19 crisis management, which will be led by the transition committee chairman Ahn, and one for balanced regional growth.

One committee that is to be launched under the transition committee would be dedicated to promoting national integration, Yoon added.

The president-elect said other appointments for the divisions and special committees would be announced later.

Yoon is to begin his work from Monday at the presidential transition committee set up in the Financial Supervisory Service training center building, located in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, central Seoul.

A day before, the spokesperson for the president-elect Rep. Kim Eun-hye revealed a plan to launch a special committee dedicated for balanced regional growth, addressing the problem of hyperconcentration of the population in the Greater Seoul area.

“From the electioneering period, we have seen how housing, employment and education is excessively concentrated in the metropolitan regions, which has caused considerable difficulties in other regions,” Kim Eun-hye, the spokesperson for the president-elect said in a press briefing on Saturday.

“We are launching the committee under the principle that a nation can only plan its future with balanced growth of all regions, and not one specific region.”

The decision to establish the additional task force came after the president-elect listened to demands from the People Power Party’s regional headquarter chiefs, Kim added.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)