[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Kim Kang-lip, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, has retired after 32 years of public service.
On the afternoon of the 26th, Kim held a retirement ceremony at the government office in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, and said, "Although I am retiring while COVID-19 has not yet fully ended, my steps are heavy, but as the saying 'Jungryeok Isan' (衆力移山 - many people working together can move mountains) goes, I believe that any crisis can be overcome if everyone works together."
He added, "Today marks the end of my public service, and I return as an ordinary citizen. The first day of work in April 1990, filled with excitement and fear, is still vivid, and now I am delivering my retirement farewell."
Born in 1965 in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Kim graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Sociology in 1989, earned a master's degree in Social Welfare from the University of Chicago in 1997, and a doctorate in Public Health from Yonsei University in 2010.
He entered public service by passing the 33rd Administrative Examination and served as Director of Health and Medical Policy, Director of Health and Medical Policy Office, and Director of Planning and Coordination Office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. From May 2019, he served as the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, responding to COVID-19. He was then appointed Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in November 2020 and served for about one and a half years.
On the morning of the same day, President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated Oh Yu-kyung, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University, as the new Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The new Commissioner Oh is scheduled to take office on the 27th and immediately begin work.
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