Moon nominates five ministers in a cabinet reshuffle

Aug 31, 2018, 09:25 am

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President Moon Jae-in on Thursday named five new ministers, including (from left) DPK lawmaker Yoo Eun-hye as education minister, Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Jeong Kyeong-doo as defense minister, Korea Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Sung Yun-mo as trade minister, former chief of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service Lee Jae-kap as employment minister, and ruling party's rep. Jin Sun-mi as the minister of gender equality and family./ Source: Cheong Wa Dae

By AsiaToday reporter Park Ji-sook

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday named five new ministers, including DPK lawmaker Yoo Eun-hye as education minister, and four vice minister-level officials in his first cabinet reshuffle since he took office in May last year.

Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, was tapped to replace Defense Minister Song Young-moo, who came under criticism for mishandling a controversy over military plans to quell candlelight protests against the Park Geun-hye administration. Lee Jae-kap, former chief of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, was appointed as minister of employment and labor. The ruling party's Rep. Jin Sun-mi was named as the head of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Korea Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Sung Yun-mo was named as the head of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

President Moon also picked former special inspector Rhee Suk-soo, who resigned while probing Park Geun-hye's senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Woo Byung-woo over corruption allegations, to head the National Intelligence Service's planning division. Wang Jung-hong, the incumbent secretary-general of the Board of Audit and Inspection, was named as the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Chung Jae-suk and Yang Hyang-ja were respectively appointed the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration and head of the Central Officials Training Institute.

Moon's replacement of five ministers, which account to nearly 30 percent of the total number of ministers, indicates that the secondary cabinet of the Moon Jae-in administration has kicked off. If the minister nominees are confirmed as eventual ministers, the number of incumbent lawmakers joining the Cabinet will increase to seven out of 18 ministers. The number of female ministers will increase from four to five, reaching President Moon's pledge of filling 30 percent of the seats with women. Cheong Wa Dae said at least one more minister will be announced in a week or two.

"As the 19th and 20th member of the National Assembly, education minister nominee Yoo Eun-hae has been working as a member and assistant administrator of the National Assembly Education, Culture, Sports & Tourism Committee for several years and has a high level of understanding and insight in the organization and work of the education ministry in general," Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, told a press briefing. Describing Jeong Kyeong-doo as an "expert in improving defense capabilities", spokesman Kim said Jeong has been selected for his rich experience and solid knowledge of defense policies. "As a bureaucrat familiar with industrial policies, the trade minister nominee Sung has a high level of understanding and expertise on the organization and work of the commerce ministry in general," the spokesman said.

"We expect (Lee) to smoothly resolve various and complicated issues such as creating jobs, and resolving wage disparity to contribute to the realization of labor-friendly society and improvement of people's life quality," the spokesman said. "Jin Sun-mi has both insight and drive in the overall issues of women and families," Kim said.

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