Nine Personnel Shifts at Vice-Minister Level

Yesterday, President Roh Moo-hyun made nine personnel shifts at the vice-minister level, including the promotion of Kim Young-sik, chief of the Office of Planning and Coordination, to vice-minister of education and human resources.

Lee Bong-jo, chief of the Policy-Coordination Office of the National Security Council, was promoted to vice-minister of unification; Gwon O-ryong was promoted to vice-minister of government administration and home affairs; and Jo Hwan-ik, secretary general of Korea Industrial Technology Foundation, was promoted to vice-minister of commerce, industry, and energy.

Song Jae-sung, chief of the Office Of Social Welfare Policy, became vice-minister of health and welfare; Shin Hyun-taek, chief of the Office of Planning and Management, to vice-minister of gender equality; Son Jung-soo, former vice-chief of the Rural Development Administration, to chief of that agency; Jo Yoon-hwan, from vice-chief to chief of the Korean Forest Service; and Kim Sung-jin, the president’s industrial policy secretary, was promoted to chief of the Small and Mid-sized Business Administration.

Cheong Wa Dae is planning punitive personnel shifts in the National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Ministry of National Defense after the results of investigations into Kim Sun-il’s death are released by the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea and the National Assembly.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com