Yoon names new industry minister

Aug 23, 2023, 10:01 am

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Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki introduces Trade, Industry and Energy Minister nominee Bang Moon-kyu, center, and new Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Ki-sun during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 22, 2023./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated Bang Moon-kyu, a minister in the Office for Government Policy Coordination, as industry minister, in a reshuffling Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun was named the new policy coordination minister.

Presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki announced the nominations in a press briefing.

“As a veteran economic official with a broad understanding of and ability to coordinate overall state affairs, we determined that Bang will be the right person to pursue regulatory innovation, export promotion and other state tasks for the industrial sector,” Kim said.

As for Bang Ki-sun, Kim said, “Since he is a career economy bureaucrat in the field of economy, serving key positions at the finance ministry and the Asian Development Bank, we believe he is expected to reasonably coordinate state affairs.”

Industry Minister nominee Bang Moon-kyu began his public career after passing the 28th public administration examination. He is an orthodox economic official who served as the second vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the vice minister of health and welfare, and the president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

Bang Ki-sun, the Government Policy Coordination Minister nominee, is said to have extensive experience in coordinating economic policies as he served as welfare budget deliberation officer at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and the head of Asian Development Bank. He passed the 34th public administration examination.

The nomination of both candidates from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance is an apparent sign that President Yoon Suk-yeol is willing to make full-fledged achievements in economic and industrial areas such as nuclear power plants, energy policies, and trade.

A high-ranking official of the presidential office said that president invited veteran economic officials from the finance ministry saying that “the center of state affairs is the economy, from now on.”

Yoon also tapped Kim Byoung-hwan, presidential secretary for economic and financial affairs, as first vice finance minister; Ko Ki-dong, vice mayor of Sejong, as vice interior minister; Yi Han-kyung, chief of the disaster management office at the interior ministry, as head of the ministry’s department for disaster and safety management; and Kim Hyeong-ryeol, CEO of the Construction Industry Guarantee, as head of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction.

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