A Look at the Candidates for the New Government's Economic Leadership Team

With Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate who championed the concept of 'Meoksanism,' elected as the 21st President, attention is now focused on the new government’s soon-to-be-formed economic team.

According to the National Assembly and economic circles on June 4, various figures are being discussed as potential leaders of the Lee Jaemyung administration’s economic team.

Yonhap News Agency

For the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Lee Hoseung, former Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy, and Lee Eogwon, former Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, are being mentioned. Lee Hoseung is considered an expert in economic policy, having built most of his career in the Economic Policy Bureau and Policy Coordination Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He has also served as the Blue House’s Secretary for Job Planning, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, and Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs. During his tenure as Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs, he was credited with coordinating responses to Japan’s export restrictions and overcoming the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. He served as the last Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy under the Moon Jaein administration.

Lee Eogwon is also regarded as one of the key bureaucrats who participated in President Lee’s campaign. Within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, he mainly worked in the Economic Policy Bureau, overseeing and planning macroeconomic policy. In 2020, when COVID-19 broke out, he contributed to devising crisis response measures such as the livelihood finance stabilization package as Director General of Economic Policy.

If, as President Lee pledged, the Ministry of Economy and Finance is split into the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Budget, a separate leader will be needed to oversee budget policy. Koo Yooncheol, former Minister of Government Policy Coordination, is a key figure who handled budget policy in President Lee’s campaign. In 2019, under the Moon Jaein administration, Koo Yooncheol led the drafting of the so-called “super budget” as Director General for Budget at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In 2020, as the second Vice Minister, he also directed the formulation of the first and second supplementary budgets. During the presidential campaign, he participated in President Lee’s direct Economic Growth Committee.

Yoo Jongil, former co-chairman of President Lee’s think tank “Growth and Integration” during the election, is also among the candidates. Yoo Jongil previously served as Dean of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management and joined President Lee’s policy advisory group when Lee was mayor of Seongnam. He also served as president of Jubilee Bank, a debt relief bank established by President Lee. Within the think tank, he proposed integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across all industries. He is also known for inviting Yoon Seokjin, former president of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and Kim Yuchan and Kim Jaejin, former presidents of the Korea Institute of Public Finance, to President Lee’s campaign. However, a weakness is that “Growth and Integration” was effectively dissolved after just eight days due to policy confusion and controversy over violations of the Public Official Election Act.

Ha Junkyung, professor of economics at Hanyang University, who developed the growth roadmap for President Lee’s campaign, is a representative economic advisor. In 2021, President Lee personally reached out to Professor Ha, initiating their relationship. Professor Ha later participated in President Lee’s think tank “Policies to Change the World 2022” during the 20th presidential election, serving as chair of the first economic subcommittee. In this election, he was appointed chair of the economic subcommittee for Growth and Integration. During the Moon Jaein administration, he also served as a member of the National Economic Advisory Council and was known for his centrist stance, including criticism of the three major tenancy laws.

Lee Hanjoo, head of the Democratic Research Institute and known as President Lee’s “mentor,” is being considered for the position of Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy. Lee Hanjoo has been a political ally of President Lee for 40 years, starting from 1986 when President Lee was preparing for the bar exam. He is regarded as a key confidant who can speak candidly with President Lee in private. He is especially known for designing President Lee’s signature policies, including “basic income” and the “three major free welfare programs” (free school uniforms, youth allowance, and postpartum care centers).