[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Han Hwajin, the nominee for Minister of Environment, stated on the 14th, "I will do my best to realize the environmental rights of citizens to live in a pleasant environment and to leap forward as a carbon-neutral green powerhouse."
Regarding her nomination as Minister of Environment, Han said, "I feel a heavy responsibility as I have been appointed as the first Minister of Environment of the new government during a critical time when the climate and environmental crises are accelerating and the international order is rapidly changing."
Earlier, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Han, an honorary research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute, as the inaugural Minister of Environment candidate the day before.
Born in 1959 in Daejeon, Han graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in Chemistry from Korea University and earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) graduate school.
She is an expert in the environmental field, having worked as a senior research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute from 1993 to 2019, and served as the environmental secretary at the Office of the President's Social Policy Secretary during the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2009 to 2010.
Han later served as the deputy director of the Korea Environment Institute, a member of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and since 2018, she has been a member of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s Emissions Trading Allocation Committee. Since 2020, she has been an honorary research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute. She has conducted environmental policy research for about 30 years.
Han added, "I will sincerely participate in the confirmation hearing process and strive to thoroughly report to the public my principles and directions regarding environmental policy."
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