0
President Lee Jae-myung waves to citizens during a public election broadcast event held in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 4. / Source: Lee Byung-hwa

President Lee Jae-myung is expected to appoint Kim Min-seok, senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party, as the new government’s first prime minister on June 4. Lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik is also reportedly the leading candidate for presidential chief of staff.

According to political sources, President Lee plans to formally nominate Kim as prime minister immediately after his inauguration ceremony in Yeouido today. Kim, a four-term lawmaker, is a prominent figure from South Korea’s '86 generation' student movement, having served as president of Seoul National University’s student council and chair of the nationwide student association. During the recent presidential campaign, Kim served as a co-chair of the Democratic Party’s central election committee.

Kang Hoon-sik, a three-term lawmaker who served as chief of the campaign’s operations room, is expected to be appointed as chief of staff. Meanwhile, Lee Han-joo, head of the Democratic Research Institute and the campaign’s chief policy director, is said to have been tapped as chief policy officer, who will oversee the new administration’s policy direction.

Key foreign and security posts, including national security adviser—who will help coordinate critical issues such as ongoing tariff negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration—are also expected to be filled as early as today. Lawmaker Wi Sung-rak is considered a strong candidate for national security adviser.