Background of Han Deok-su's Nomination as Yoon Government's First Prime Minister... Jang Je-won Says "He Was Invited Three Times"

President-elect Yoon and Previous Night's 'Sandwich Meeting'
Consensus on Strengthening Cabinet Responsibility and Authority

Jang Je-won, Chief of Staff to the President-elect, is briefing on the results of the dinner meeting between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Seok-youl at the joint press conference hall of the transition committee in Tongui-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 28th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Jang Je-won, Chief Secretary to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, said on the 3rd that former Prime Minister Han Deok-su seems to have concerns about the "reforms that the new government could not fully achieve."

Jang stated this on the morning of the 3rd at the press room of the Transition Committee in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, saying, "(Former Prime Minister Han) seems to have ambitions to steadily accomplish the things he has hoped for throughout his long public service career."

Jang said, "Actually, I made three earnest visits. I met (former Prime Minister Han) more than three times and spoke to him sincerely," adding, "At the third meeting, he said, 'I hope you find someone else,' but he agreed to the personnel screening regarding himself."

It is known that President-elect Yoon had a 'sandwich meeting' with former Prime Minister Han for about three hours the previous night. They reportedly continued discussions on the next government’s administration and government reorganization while having sandwiches for dinner. Jang was also present at this meeting.

According to Jang, former Prime Minister Han said, "If the president nominates ministers and those minister nominees recommend vice ministers, the atmosphere in the public service will greatly improve," and added, "If the appointing authority delegates personnel authority more to the responsible ministers, teamwork will be much more activated."

Regarding concerns about former Prime Minister Han’s age, 73 this year, Jang emphasized, "Wouldn’t it require time to cover diplomacy, economy, and trade? That age is seen as experience. How could that experience have been accumulated without the passage of time?"

On the timing of announcing ministerial candidates, Jang said, "We are currently obtaining consent from many people and conducting screenings," adding, "Many candidates have been passed to the personnel screening team, but we need to see the results. We plan to announce them promptly as the results come out."

President-elect Yoon is scheduled to hold a press conference with former Prime Minister Han at the Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong in the afternoon regarding the nomination of the new government’s first prime minister candidate.

Regarding the preliminary budget for relocating the presidential office to Yongsan and related matters, Jang said about the ongoing practical consultations with Lee Cheol-hee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, "Isn’t there a broad agreement between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon? Within that framework, if there is anything we need, we frequently communicate and keep in touch to proceed well."