Yoon Transition Committee Announces Appointments by Division... The Return of the 'MB Faction'

Kim Seong-han as Chair of Foreign Security Subcommittee, Kim Tae-hyo as Member... Active During MB Administration
Many Seoul National University Alumni Also Positioned
Personnel Appointments to Be Finalized This Week

[Asia Economy Reporters Junyi Park and Hyunji Kwon] The lineup of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential transition committee is being revealed. About half of the entire transition committee members have been disclosed, and it is notable that a significant number of them are former MB administration officials and Seoul National University alumni.

On the 15th, the announcement of appointments by subcommittees (Economic Subcommittee 1, Foreign Affairs and Security Subcommittee, Political, Judicial and Administrative Subcommittee) showed that about half of the 24 transition committee members have been filled. The previous day, Transition Committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo revealed the appointments for the Planning and Coordination Subcommittee, including Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party (secretary), Rep. Lee Tae-gyu of the People’s Party, and Professor Choi Jong-hak of Seoul National University’s Business Administration Department.

Looking at the composition of the transition committee members disclosed so far, a notable feature is that many are from the ‘MB administration.’ Representative examples include Kim Seong-han, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, appointed as secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Security Subcommittee, and Kim Tae-hyo, former Presidential Strategic Planning Officer at the Blue House, who is also a member. Kim, the former vice minister, served as former President Lee Myung-bak’s ‘diplomatic tutor’ for several years during the MB administration, and Kim, the former planning officer, is known as a key aide who supported the former president during his campaign and at the Blue House. Choi Sang-mok, former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, who serves as secretary of Economic Subcommittee 1, also worked under former Minister Kang Man-soo during the MB administration and served as the first vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance under the Park Geun-hye administration. In a phone interview with this publication, Choi said, “I have never participated in the transition committee or the campaign of President-elect Yoon,” adding, “I will be able to comment more after reviewing the pledges.”

The ‘Seoul National University line,’ which includes President-elect Yoon’s alma mater, also stands out. Both Choi, the former vice minister, and Rep. Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party, who belongs to the Political, Judicial and Administrative Subcommittee, graduated from Seoul National University’s College of Law, the same as President-elect Yoon. Professor Kim So-young of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics, appointed to Economic Subcommittee 1, has overseen President-elect Yoon’s overall economic policies since the campaign period. Alongside her, Professor Shin Seong-hwan of Hongik University’s Business Administration Department, who majored in economics at Seoul National University, is also a member of Economic Subcommittee 1. Rep. Lee Yong-ho, who serves as secretary of the Political, Judicial and Administrative Subcommittee, is also a Seoul National University alumnus.

Figures symbolizing the ‘national unity’ emphasized by President-elect Yoon have also joined the transition committee. Park Joo-sun, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, was appointed chairman of the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony Preparation Committee. He is a four-term politician from Honam who joined the campaign as the head of the People Power Party’s Gwangju-Jeonnam election campaign committee and served as chairman of the East-West Harmony Future Committee under the central election committee. Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for President-elect Yoon, explained at a briefing at the party headquarters, “Former Deputy Speaker Park has gone through numerous political experiences and has played a dedicated role in changing the political landscape of the Republic of Korea,” adding, “He understands better than anyone the values and philosophy of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which has made national integration its most important task to complete a just and new Republic of Korea.” Former Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense Lee Jong-seop, a key figure in the Moon Jae-in administration’s army, also joined the Foreign Affairs and Security Subcommittee as a member on the same day.

The transition committee is expected to complete the appointments for the remaining subcommittees within this week. The Economic Subcommittee 2, Science, Technology and Education Subcommittee, and Social Welfare and Culture Subcommittee appointments have not yet been announced. In the economic field, former Blue House Chief Economic Secretary Kang Seok-hoon, a key economic aide in the campaign headquarters, and Professor Kim Kyung-hwan of Sogang University’s Department of Economics, who oversaw real estate policy, are expected. Additionally, in the welfare sector, Professor Kim Hyun-sook of Soongsil University’s Department of Economics, who served as head of the Employment and Welfare Policy Headquarters in the campaign and oversaw welfare and job pledges, and Professor Ahn Sang-hoon of Seoul National University’s Department of Social Welfare, who was head of the Welfare State Policy Headquarters, are strongly mentioned as candidates.