[6.29 Cabinet Reshuffle] Yoon Appoints Kim Young-ho as Minister of Unification... Surprising Selection of Jang Mi-ran as Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Update)

Kim Hong-il, Former High Prosecutor, Appointed as Chair of the Anti-Corruption Commission
2 Minister-Level and 13 Vice Minister-Level Personnel Appointed

On the 29th, President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Kim Young-ho, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, as the new Minister of Unification, and Kim Hong-il, former Busan High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor, as the candidate for Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. He also appointed Jang Mi-ran, a former national weightlifting athlete and professor at Yongin University, as the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, conducting a large-scale reshuffle of 2 minister-level and 13 vice minister-level officials.

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the morning and announced the appointments of 14 people, including the nominees for Minister of Unification and Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Candidate Kim Young-ho previously served as Presidential Unification Secretary during the Lee Myung-bak administration and as Human Rights Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He currently chairs the Future Unification Planning Committee, an advisory body to the Minister of Unification. Kim explained, "We judged that Candidate Kim is the right person to pursue principled North Korea policies and consistent unification strategies once appointed as minister."

Nominee Kim Hong-il served as head of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and as Chief Prosecutor of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, and has worked as a lawyer at the law firm Sejong for nearly 40 years. Kim introduced him as "a responsible person who can quickly normalize the functions and status of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission as an institution for corruption prevention and integrity through his upright character and rational leadership."

Minister of Unification nominee Kim Young-ho (left) and Kim Hong-il, the nominee for Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, are attending the briefing on the appointment of vice ministers by Kim Dae-gi, Chief Presidential Secretary, at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 29th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the vice minister level, replacements were made in 11 ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Presidential Office secretaries were appointed as vice ministers in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (1st and 2nd vice ministers), Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Ministry of Science and ICT. Kim Oh-jin, Management Secretary, and Baek Won-guk, Land and Transport Secretary, were appointed as the 1st and 2nd vice ministers of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, respectively. Im Sang-jun, Secretary for National Tasks, was appointed as Vice Minister of Environment, and Park Sung-hoon, Secretary for National Planning, as Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. Cho Sung-kyung, Science and Technology Secretary, was promoted to 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Kim Wan-seop, Director of the Budget Office at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was promoted to 2nd Vice Minister of Economy and Finance. Lee Sung-hee, former secretary for labor during the Park Geun-hye administration, was appointed Vice Minister of Employment and Labor. Oh Ki-woong, current Director of the Policy Coordination Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, was appointed Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups, and Han Hoon, Commissioner of Statistics Korea, was appointed Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The vice ministerial line in foreign affairs and security ministries was also partially reshuffled. Oh Young-joo, Ambassador to Vietnam, was appointed 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Moon Seung-hyun, Ambassador to Thailand and former Foreign Ministry official, was appointed Vice Minister of Unification. Kim Chae-hwan, former full-time professor at Seoul Cyber University, was appointed President of the National Human Resources Development Institute, a vice minister-level national public official.

Professor Jang Mi-ran of Yongin University was appointed as the new 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]