Lee Jae Myung's Economic Team Takes Shape: First-Term Tasks Are Supplementary Budget, Fiscal Policy, and Growth

President Lee Jae Myung is announcing the first personnel appointments of the new administration on the 4th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The framework of President Lee Jae Myung's economic team, which has declared an "all-out battle against recession," has been established. The first economic team of the new administration faces the tasks of drafting a supplementary budget for the recovery of people's livelihoods, shifting toward an active fiscal policy, and devising strategies to secure new growth engines.

Unlike the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which appointed a large number of bureaucrats to its economic team, the Lee Jae Myung administration has selected figures from the private sector as well. For the newly created position of fiscal affairs advisor, an academic has been appointed, signaling an intention to take control of the budget initiative.

According to the Presidential Office on June 9, President Lee's first economic team has been organized to swiftly implement the new administration's governing philosophy of "economic recovery" and a "pragmatic government." Kim Yongbeom, former First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was appointed as Chief Policy Officer, overseeing overall policy. The existing position of Chief Economic Secretary was renamed Chief Economic Growth Secretary, and Hah Joonkyung, a professor at Hanyang University, was nominated for the role. Ryu Deokhyun, a professor at Chung-Ang University, was appointed as the newly established Senior Fiscal Planning Advisor, a position at the chief secretary level.

This stands in contrast to President Yoon's first economic team, which was composed mainly of economic bureaucrats. President Yoon appointed key officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, such as Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki, Chief Economic Secretary Choi Sang-mok, and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choo Kyung-ho. While it was widely expected that President Lee would also appoint bureaucrats to efficiently lead the civil service, in reality, he reduced reliance on bureaucrats and included academics in the lineup.

Chief Policy Officer Kim began his public service career in 1986 by passing the 30th Higher Civil Service Examination. He has served as Director of Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Director General of Financial Policy at the Financial Services Commission, and Secretary-General of the Financial Services Commission. During the Moon Jae In administration, he served as Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission and First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Changyong once remarked that Kim is "one of the few economic bureaucrats who can speak advanced English," highlighting his fluency. He is especially recognized for his crisis management abilities and strong drive for execution.

Kim is expected to take responsibility for designing the new administration's policy direction within the Presidential Office. He is also likely to assist in forming the cabinet lineup, including positions such as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, which have yet to be announced.

Chief Economic Growth Secretary Hah has been President Lee's economic advisor since Lee's tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province. In academia, he has studied growth theory alongside Joseph Schumpeter, who is famous for the concept of "animal spirits" in business. During the Moon Jae In administration, Hah served as a member of the Macroeconomic Subcommittee of the Presidential National Economic Advisory Council. In the recent presidential election, he participated in President Lee's think tank "Growth and Integration," leading the economic division. It is also known that the "growth strategy" of the Lee Jae Myung campaign originated from Hah's ideas.

Hah is tasked with realizing President Lee's pledges for the recovery of people's livelihoods and economic growth. As President Lee has emphasized "policies that can be implemented immediately," Hah must focus on measures for livelihood recovery in the short term and design policies to restore South Korea's growth engines in the medium to long term.

Advisor Ryu previously worked as a senior researcher at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), served at the Korea Institute of Public Finance, and was a board member of the Korean Association of Public Finance. He also served as a member of the Macroeconomic Subcommittee of the Presidential National Economic Advisory Council under the Moon administration. During his academic career, he was known for emphasizing the active role of fiscal policy. Advisor Ryu will lead fiscal policy and work closely with Chief Secretary Hah. If, as President Lee has pledged, the budgeting function is separated from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, it is highly likely that Hah will oversee the newly established budget ministry.

However, many believe that it will take more time to complete the appointments for government ministries, such as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. This is because the Presidential Office has stated that the confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Kim Minseok will take precedence over cabinet appointments. As a result, there are rumors that vice ministers of economic ministries, who do not require confirmation hearings, may be appointed first. A Presidential Office official explained, "All of these processes are still ongoing, so it is difficult to announce any plans in advance."

The immediate task for the first economic team is to draft a supplementary budget. On June 4, President Lee issued his first executive order after taking office, launching an Emergency Economic Task Force and initiating discussions on the supplementary budget. At 10 a.m. that day, he presided over the second meeting and reviewed the scale and future schedule of the supplementary budget with working-level officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and other relevant departments.