Assemblyman Hwang Hee Appointed as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism... Controversy Over Expertise Due to 'Real Estate'-Focused Background

On the 20th, when President Moon Jae-in reshuffled three ministries, Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was nominated as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, expressed his thoughts at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The industry is abuzz regarding the background of Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Seoul Yangcheon-gu Gap), who was appointed as the new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 20th, due to his career being heavily focused on the real estate sector.

Hwang Hee, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was born in 1967. He graduated from Soongsil University with a degree in Economics and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in Urban Engineering from Yonsei University. Hwang entered politics in 1997 as a secretary to Kim Dae-jung, then chairman of the New Politics National Congress. He served as an administrator at the Blue House during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and as a planning committee member of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation. In 2017, during the presidential election, he was one of the key pro-Moon Jae-in figures, serving as deputy head of the general affairs headquarters of Moon Jae-in's campaign. He was also a member of the 'Bu-eong-i Meeting,' which was disbanded amid factional politics controversies.

Since entering the National Assembly, most of Hwang's career has been concentrated on 'real estate,' including roles such as a member of the Democratic Party's Real Estate Stability and Low-Income Housing Welfare Task Force, a member of the Local Innovation Balanced Development Promotion Group, and a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. His experience related to culture and sports is limited to serving as chairman of the Korea National Taekwondo Headquarters (Kukkiwon) Public Relations and Marketing Committee in 2011. Due to this background, it is expected that there will be significant controversy regarding his professional expertise during the upcoming verification process. The culture and arts sectors have expressed surprise at Hwang's appointment as minister.

The Blue House cited policy planning skills and communication capabilities as reasons for selecting Hwang. A Blue House official stated, "Based on his planning ability, work execution skills, and experience accumulated through legislative activities, he is the right person to successfully overcome the crisis faced by the culture, arts, sports, and tourism industries caused by COVID-19, to protect sports human rights and innovate the sports sector, and to strengthen communication with the public by addressing urgent key tasks."