"Ten Ministers Absent: Economic Crisis Deepens as Officials Skip Meeting Over Rank"

Ministers Skip Meeting Chaired by Acting Minister Kim Beomseok
10 Out of 12 Ministries Absent at Ministerial Level
Ministers Withhold Attendance, Citing Vice Minister as Chair
Korea Forest Service Chief Also Absent Despite Vice Ministerial Rank
Leadership Vacuum Deepens Amid Urgent Economic Challenges

Kim Beomseok, Acting Minister of Strategy and Finance, is attending and speaking at the Economic Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on May 8, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The first Economic Ministers' Meeting led by Kim Beomseok, Acting Minister of Strategy and Finance (First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance), was held on May 8. Although the meeting was intended to review the implementation of the supplementary budget amid heightened economic uncertainty, the absence of several key ministers gave the impression of a weakened leadership. Concerns are emerging that the absence of a leader in the economic sector may result in a real 'economic leadership vacuum.'

On this day, Acting Minister Kim presided over the Economic Ministers' Meeting at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu. It is unprecedented in recent years for a vice minister-level official to chair the Economic Ministers' Meeting. Kim assumed the role of acting minister after Choi Sangmok, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stepped down on May 2. At that time, Choi expressed his intention to resign after an impeachment motion against him, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, was submitted to the National Assembly's plenary session.

Although Acting Minister Kim is expected to play the role of Deputy Prime Minister and lead the economic sector, ministers from various departments were absent one after another. A total of 12 ministries participated in the meeting (Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Office for Government Policy Coordination, Financial Services Commission, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Korea Forest Service). Among them, only Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Byunghwan and Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Youngju attended the meeting in person. The remaining 10 ministries either sent acting ministers or designated representatives.

The reasons for their absence varied. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has no minister because former Minister Kim Moonsu was nominated as the presidential candidate for the People Power Party. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also currently have no ministers. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deokgeun and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sangwoo were in the Czech Republic on business related to a nuclear power plant contract, while Minister of Environment Kim Wanseop was on a business trip to Cambodia for water industry cooperation and returned to Korea on the morning of the meeting, making it difficult to attend.

Ministers Decline to Attend Meeting Chaired by Vice Minister

The remaining ministries stated that there was no reason for ministers to attend a meeting chaired by a vice minister. An official from the Office for Government Policy Coordination said, "Since the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance is presiding, it is appropriate for vice minister-level officials to attend," adding, "Director Bang Kisun (who holds ministerial rank) is preparing for the vice ministers' meeting." The official also remarked, "Since it is a meeting chaired by a vice minister, it is only natural for vice ministers to attend, so questioning why the ministers are not present is strange." The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries stated, "There was no special reason preventing the minister from attending," but added, "Since Acting Minister Kim is a vice minister, our minister did not attend." The Korea Forest Service, whose head is also vice minister-level, did not attend either. A Korea Forest Service official explained, "When a vice minister chairs the meeting, it is customary for deputy heads, not the agency chief, to attend."

With ministers from various departments declaring their absence on the grounds that a vice minister was chairing the meeting, the sense of an economic leadership vacuum is becoming a reality. The role and status of ministerial-level meetings are inevitably diminished in responding to both external risks and urgent domestic economic issues. An official from one government ministry commented, "Even former Deputy Prime Minister Choi faced significant difficulties when coordinating or directing matters such as diplomacy or national defense on behalf of the president," and added, "It would be even more challenging for a vice minister to direct ministers from other departments."

In response, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance emphasized, "The meeting is being chaired not as a vice minister, but as an acting minister," and insisted, "The ministerial-level meeting body is operating normally."

Meanwhile, Acting Minister Kim stated at the meeting, "We will continue to operate the Economic Ministers' Meeting, which serves as the control tower for economic policy, and will do our utmost to respond to public livelihood and customs-related damages through relevant task forces on trade, employment, and prices." He also announced that 12 trillion won out of the 13.8 trillion won supplementary budget passed by the National Assembly on May 1 would be selected for execution management, with a decision to execute more than 70% of it promptly by the end of July.