Kim Byunghwan Appointed as Financial Services Commission Chairman, Kim Wanseop as Environment Minister

Kim Beom-seok Economic and Financial Secretary and Park Beom-su Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appointment Ceremony

Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, appointed as Chairman of the Financial Services Commission.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to nominate Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as the new Financial Services Commission Chairman, and Kim Wan-seop, former Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as the new Minister of Environment on the 4th.

It is reported that the current Economic and Financial Secretary to the President’s Office, Kim Beom-seok, will be promoted and appointed as the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Park Beom-su, Secretary for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has also been nominated as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

A senior official from the Presidential Office told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "The nominations for the Financial Services Commission Chairman and the Minister of Environment will be announced today."

Kim Byung-hwan, born in 1971, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Economics. He passed the 37th Administrative Examination and began his public service career at the former Ministry of Finance and Economy, working in the Financial Policy Office’s Securities Affairs Division and Securities System Division. At the Ministry of Economy and Finance, he served as Director of the Capital Market Division, Director of the Economic Analysis Division, and Director General of the Economic Policy Bureau. Upon the inauguration of the current government, he was appointed as the Economic and Financial Secretary to the President’s Office, and just 10 months after being appointed as the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in August last year, he has been nominated for the ministerial-level position of Financial Services Commission Chairman.

Kim Wan-seop, former 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, appointed as Minister of Environment

Kim Wan-seop, nominated as Minister of Environment and former Second Vice Minister, graduated from Korea University with a degree in Business Administration. He entered public service after passing the 36th Administrative Examination and served at the Ministry of Economy and Finance as Director of Fiscal Performance Review, Chief Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Director of Social Budget Review, Director of Budget General Review, and Budget Office Chief. He was also dispatched to President Yoon’s Presidential Transition Committee’s Planning and Coordination Division.

At a press conference marking his second anniversary in office last May, President Yoon mentioned the need for a cabinet reshuffle for ministers who have served nearly two years. Starting with the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Environment on this day, preparations are underway to replace heads of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and others soon.

A key ruling party official said, "Ministers who took office with the launch of the current government are targets for replacement, and a sequential cabinet reshuffle will begin with the appointments of the Financial Services Commission Chairman and the Minister of Environment today," adding, "There is also a possibility that Lee Jin-sook, former President of Daejeon MBC, will be announced as the new Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission." The Financial Services Commission Chairman and the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission will be appointed after parliamentary confirmation hearings.