Yoon Government Presidential Office Appointments to Be Announced as Early as the 24th... Focus on 'Slimming Down'

'2 Sil·5 Suseok' System Formation Likely... Choi Sangmok, Former Vice Minister, Strong Candidate for Economic Suseok

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting citizens on the morning of the 22nd at Bansong Big Market in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Photo by the Transition Team Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to announce the presidential office reorganization and personnel appointments as early as the 24th. On the 23rd, he did not schedule any official events and was reviewing personnel verification materials for the candidate pool. The day before, President-elect Yoon completed his regional tour schedule and received reports on related matters.

Currently, President-elect Yoon is reportedly leaning toward organizing the new government’s presidential office into a '2 Offices and 5 Senior Secretaries' system. The current presidential office consists of 3 Offices (Secretariat, Policy, National Security) and 8 Senior Secretaries (Economy, Society, Political Affairs, Public Communication, Civil Society, Personnel, Jobs, Civil Affairs). For the Senior Secretary for Economy, Choi Sang-mok, a former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the secretary of the Presidential Transition Committee’s Economic Division 1, has been virtually nominated. The detailed reorganization plan, including other personnel appointments, is likely to be disclosed tomorrow.

The organizational restructuring is tentatively finalized to abolish the positions of Senior Secretaries for Civil Affairs, Jobs, and Personnel, including the Policy Chief, in line with President-elect Yoon’s campaign promise for streamlining. However, besides establishing a new Senior Secretary for Education and Science, there is also discussion about appointing a planning officer at the secretary level to replace the functions of the Personnel Senior Secretary. The functions previously handled by the Senior Secretary for Jobs are expected to be reorganized and divided between the Senior Secretaries for Society and Economy.

Choi Sang-mok is the leading candidate for Senior Secretary for Economy. For Senior Secretary for Society, Professor Ahn Sang-hoon of Seoul National University’s Department of Social Welfare, who belongs to the Transition Committee’s Social Welfare and Culture Division, is mentioned. Former lawmaker Lee Jin-bok is being considered for Senior Secretary for Political Affairs. Former lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu is rumored to be a candidate for Senior Secretary for Civil Society. If the Senior Secretary for Education and Science is newly established, it is highly likely that a person recommended by Transition Committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo will join the presidential office. For Senior Secretary for Public Relations, former KBS External Cooperation Director Lee Kang-deok is a candidate, and for Personnel Planning Officer, former Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Secretary General Bok Doo-gyu, who worked with President-elect Yoon during his time as Prosecutor General, is considered a strong candidate.

With Choi Sang-mok virtually nominated as Senior Secretary for Economy, the candidate pool for the Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission has become unclear. However, since the next government’s economic line, including the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Governor of the Bank of Korea, and the presidential office’s Senior Secretary for Economy, will all change, adjustments may be made shortly after the new government takes office. Additionally, the candidate pool for the Chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission has been narrowed down to Kang Seok-hoon, a policy advisor to President-elect Yoon, and Koo Sang-yeop, the Human Rights Protection Officer at the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office.

There is also a possibility that their terms may be extended somewhat. A Transition Committee official stated, "It is not too late to start the ministerial personnel issues after the confirmation hearings for the ministerial candidates are completed." Both the Chairpersons of the Financial Services Commission and the Fair Trade Commission still have remaining terms, and there have been cases where the terms of agency heads were guaranteed as much as possible even when the administration changed. Another Transition Committee official also said, "Since there have been precedents and customs of guaranteeing the terms of ministerial-level personnel as much as possible, the process will proceed slowly reflecting this."