President Yoon Nominates Kim Munsu as Minister of Employment and Labor: "The Right Person to Complete Labor Reform"

Chief Secretary "Experience in Legislative and Executive Branches in Labor Field"
Candidate Kim "Listening to Labor and Employer Organizations"

On the morning of the 31st, at the briefing room of the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, Kim Moon-soo, the nominee for Minister of Employment and Labor, is seated while listening to the announcement by Chung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 31st, President Yoon Suk-yeol nominated Kim Moon-soo, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, as the candidate for Minister of Employment and Labor.

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office, announced this during a briefing held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning.

Chief Jung explained about candidate Kim, "At a time when urgent issues in the labor sector are piling up, Kim, who has extensive experience in labor sites as well as in the legislative and executive branches, is the right person to complete labor reform tasks based on dialogue and compromise with various stakeholders."

Chief Jung added, "Recently, as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Body, the Economic, Social and Labor Council, he has led social dialogue and consultations while striving to revitalize the economy."

Candidate Kim said, "Although I have many shortcomings, the President has nominated me as the candidate for Minister of Employment and Labor," adding, "I will always listen carefully to the voices of labor groups including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, employer organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation, the National Assembly, and labor-related academia and media."

He continued, "President Yoon Suk-yeol's rule-of-law labor reform has achieved significant results over the past two years, greatly reducing labor loss days caused by labor disputes," but also explained, "Another challenge of labor reform, protecting vulnerable workers, is a complex and difficult issue."

Candidate Kim emphasized, "The government must actively support unorganized workers in workplaces with fewer than five employees and small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can realize simple dreams such as getting married and having children," and added, "I will do my best to ensure the success of President Yoon’s labor reform and to create a Korea where labor, management, and the government are all happy."

Born in 1951, Kim Moon-soo devoted himself to the labor movement in his 20s and 30s, served as a member of the 15th, 16th, and 17th National Assembly, and was twice governor of Gyeonggi Province.

Meanwhile, President Yoon approved the appointments of Lee Jin-sook as Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission and Kim Byung-hwan as Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission on the same day.

Additionally, Kim Tae-gyu, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, was appointed as a standing member of the Korea Communications Commission; Park Cheol-hee, President of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, as Ambassador to Japan; Shim Seung-seop, former Chief of Naval Operations, as Ambassador to Australia; and Choi Hyung-chan, Ambassador to the Netherlands, as the new President of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.