Blue House announced on the 7th that President Lee Jae-myung nominated Minister of Startups and SMEs Han Seong-sook as the candidate for the new Prime Minister. The photo shows President Lee taking a commemorative photo with Minister Han after presenting her with a letter of appointment last year. / Photo via Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung nominated Minister of Startups and SMEs Han Seong-sook  as the candidate to succeed Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on the 7th. In selecting the Prime Minister for the second year of his administration, this is interpreted as a choice of an 'economy and industry-oriented card' that places emphasis on the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation and the growth of small businesses and ventures.

If the nominee passes the National Assembly personnel hearing and the appointment consent procedure, she will become the first female Prime Minister in 20 years, since former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook in 2006.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik announced during a briefing at Chunchugwan on this day, "President Lee nominated Minister of Startups and SMEs Han Seong-sook as the candidate for Prime Minister today." Chief of Staff Kang emphasized the nominee's management experience at private IT enterprises and her deep understanding of small business policies as the background for the nomination.

Nominee Han worked as a reporter for the monthly magazine PC Line, Head of the Search Business Division at Empas, and Executive Vice President of the Service Division at Naver, before serving as the CEO of Naver from 2017 to March 2022.

"Based on her experience as an IT enterprise CEO and Minister of Startups and SMEs, we expect her to be the right person to successfully accomplish the AI transformation—a task of our times—and to lead the growth of the entire Republic of Korea, rather than just a segment of the public," Kang stated.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, during her tenure as Minister of Startups and SMEs, the nominee focused on shifting the weight of small business policies from protection and support toward growth and leapfrogging. In particular, she is reported to have received high marks for pursuing user-centric policies such as the 'Startups for All Project,' 'SME Crisis Alert Talk,' 'Tech Theft Whistleblower,' and 'SME Growth Platform,' as well as producing visible results in SME exports and venture funds. The judgment is that she is the right person to diffuse a growth-oriented policy stance across the entire administration.

"As Minister of Startups and SMEs, Nominee Han has created various achievements by emphasizing speed, results, and the field," Chief of Staff Kang explained, adding, "She possesses an innovative mindset and a will for reform built up in the private sector, along with a philosophy of mutual prosperity that everyone must grow."

Meanwhile, regarding Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Chief of Staff Kang noted, "We express our deepest gratitude for his dedication as the first Prime Minister of the Lee Jae-myung administration, during which he overcame internal turmoil and spearheaded the recovery of the Republic of Korea."

                                                                                                        Park Young-hoon