Yoon appoints education minister and Joint Chiefs of Staff chief

Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed on Monday Park Soon-ae as Minister of Education who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Kim Seung-gyeom as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The appointments were confirmed as the president believed the positions should no longer be vacant due to the impasse in the National Assembly over forming its committees and electing their heads. President Yoon also nominated Professor Song Ok-ryeol from Seoul National University School of Law as chairperson of the Korean Fair Trade Commission who is known as an authority on commercial law.

Neither Deputy Primer Minister Park nor Chairman Kim went through the confirmation hearings. The number of the presidential appointees that skipped confirmation hearings are now three including Commissioner Kim Chang-ki of the National Tax Service. The presidential office said that JSC Chairman post must be filled promptly under serious security situation and that Deputy Prime Minister position needed to be appointed as the national education committee was to be launched soon.

Kim Seung-hee, health and welfare minister nominee, withdrew her candidacy 40 days after being designated amid prosecutors' accusations of misappropriating political funds. “I am resigning from the nomination to be minister of health and welfare today and I never intentionally misappropriated the funds but accepted that I could not be free from management responsibilities,” Kim said in her statement on Monday.

The presidential office described the Fair Trade Commission chairperson nominee Song as the best person to help the government not to be a roadblock for boosting liberal market economy.


Kwan-Seok Jang jks@donga.com