Yoon to replace up to 10 ministers in cabinet reshuffle

Dec 04, 2023, 09:31 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol enters the ceremony to appoint Lee Jong-seok as the new Constitutional Court President at the presidential office in Seoul on Dec. 1, 2023./ Source: Joint Press Corps

AsiaToday reporter Park Ji-eun

President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to replace as many as 10 out of 19 ministers in a cabinet reshuffle as early as Monday.

The ministers likely to be replaced are those for land, industry, SMEs, oceans, science, agriculture and labor, according to the presidential office on Sunday.

Park Sang-woo, former chief of state-run housing developer Korea Land & Housing Corp., and Sim Kyo-eon, president of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, are considered top contenders to replace Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Hee-ryong. Former Vice Minister Song Sang-geun of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Korea University Professor Kim In-hyun are strong contenders to replace Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan. Korea Rural Economic Institute’s senior researcher Song Mi-ryung and former vice minister Woo Tae-hee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are considered successors of Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Chung Hwang-keun and Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu, respectively.

The potential successors of SMEs and Startups Minister Lee Young are Seoul National University professor Yoo Byung-joon and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology president Min Byung-joo. Professor Cho Joon-mo of Sungkyunkwan University is considered to replace Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik. For minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology president Lee Yong-hoon and Kwangwoon University president Yoo Ji-sang are on the list for consideration.

For now, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is excluded from the reshuffle, as he is reportedly willing to approve the pending budget bill for next year at the National Assembly.

The fate of Foreign Minister Park Jin remains to be seen in the upcoming reshuffle. Some posts of vice ministers are also expected to be vacant. Jang Mi-ran, the second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, is expected to either run for a seat in Osan in Gyeonggi Province or become a proportional representative. Lee Young-pyo, former vice chairman of the Korea Football Association, reportedly has taken the verification process to replace Vice Minister Jang.

Meanwhile, the presidential office appointed Kim Soo-kyung, the presidential secretary for unification affairs, as the new presidential spokesperson. Kim will succeed Lee Do-woon who was recently promoted as senior public relations secretary. Cho Sang-myeong, presidential secretary for social integration, was also appointed as chief of the situation room for state affairs.

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