Cheong Wa Dae: "All 12 Newly Appointed Vice Ministers Will Soon Become Single-Homeowners"

Left 청 as a 'Multi-Homeowner', Returns as Vice Minister
청 "Will Soon Confirm Disposal Intentions with Multi-Homeowners"

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, is announcing personnel appointments for 12 vice minister-level officials at the Blue House briefing room on the morning of the 1st.

Regarding President Moon Jae-in's appointment of 12 vice minister-level officials on the 1st, the Blue House stated, "None of the appointees currently own only one house, but after a short period, they are all expected to become single-homeowners."

A senior Blue House official responded this way during a meeting with reporters when asked whether those who previously left the Blue House due to being 'multi-homeowners' were reappointed as vice ministers.

This time, President Moon appointed Park Jin-gyu, former Blue House Secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies, as Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Yoon Sung-won, former Blue House Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. These individuals had left the Blue House in July after being labeled as 'multi-homeowners.'

The senior Blue House official explained, "In the case of appointee Park, the sale of his remaining single house is underway," adding, "We have been informed that the registration transfer will likely be completed by December." He continued, "For appointee Yoon Sung-won, one of his two houses has already been sold." He emphasized, "Among the others, there were a few who owned two houses, but they have confirmed their intention to dispose of them, and the appointments were made accordingly."

Through the 12 vice minister-level appointments on this day, Im Seo-jeong, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, was appointed as Senior Secretary for Jobs at the Blue House, and Kim Kang-rip, First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, was appointed as Commissioner of the Korea Food and Drug Administration. Yang Sung-il, Director-General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was appointed as First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, and Park Hwa-jin, Director-General of Labor Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, was appointed as Vice Minister of Employment and Labor.

Kim Jung-woo, former Democratic Party lawmaker, was appointed as Administrator of the Public Procurement Service; Shin Yeol-woo, Head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, as Commissioner of the National Fire Agency; Park Kwang-seok, Director-General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Environment, as Administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration; Do Gyu-sang, former Blue House Secretary for Economic Policy, as Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission; Kim Hee-gyeom, Deputy Governor for Administration of Gyeonggi Province, as Director-General of the Disaster Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety; and Min Byung-chan, Director of the Gyeongju Museum at the National Museum of Korea, as Director of the National Museum of Korea under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

A large-scale reshuffle took place in economic ministries, which is interpreted as the Moon administration's intention to more vigorously promote the 'Korean New Deal' proposed to overcome the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to inject vitality into the government organization in the latter half of its term.

Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said, "This personnel reshuffle was made to accelerate the achievement of national policy outcomes by deploying talented individuals who understand the Moon administration's governance philosophy and possess work capabilities to frontline ministries, while promoting internal reform within the public service to ensure stable governance in the second half of the term."

President Moon Jae-in made 12 vice minister-level appointments on the 1st.
From the first row, left to right: Im Seo-jeong, appointed as Senior Secretary for Jobs at the Blue House and former Vice Minister of Employment and Labor; Kim Kang-lip, appointed as Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and former First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare; Park Jin-gyu, appointed as Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and former Secretary for New Southern and New Northern Policies at the Blue House; Yang Sung-il, appointed as First Vice Minister of Health and Welfare and former Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
From the second row, left to right: Park Hwa-jin, appointed as Vice Minister of Employment and Labor and former Director of Labor Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor; Yoon Sung-won, appointed as First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and former Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the Blue House; Kim Jung-woo, appointed as Administrator of the Public Procurement Service and former National Assembly member; Shin Yeol-woo, appointed as Commissioner of the National Fire Agency and former Head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters.
From the third row, left to right: Park Kwang-seok, appointed as Administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration and former Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Environment; Do Kyu-sang, appointed as Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission and former Secretary for Economic Policy at the Blue House; Kim Hee-gyeom, appointed as Director of the Disaster Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and former Deputy Governor for Administration of Gyeonggi Province; Min Byung-chan, appointed as Director of the National Museum of Korea at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and former Director of the Gyeongju National Museum.

Meanwhile, in August, the Blue House conducted nine vice minister-level appointments, emphasizing that "all are single-homeowners." At that time, Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said in a briefing, "This was done considering the public's universal perception that senior public officials should take the lead in realizing housing justice."

Regarding this, a senior Blue House official said, "The appointment of single-homeowners has become the new normal not only in the Blue House but also in government ministries." The official added, "As of last December, there were 20 multi-homeowners among Blue House secretaries and above, but currently (August), there are only two," emphasizing, "These two are also making efforts to dispose of their additional homes, and a situation with zero multi-homeowners will soon be realized."