Presidential Office Prioritizes Communication

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae has newly created a public relations and planning office under which public relations, speechwriting and documentation, and public communication secretaries will work to enhance communication with the people.

As a result, the presidential office has changed from one office-seven senior secretaries-one spokesperson, to one office-seven senior secretaries-one spokesperson-one planning office. Forty-three secretaries have remained in place.

Under the new structure, the planning and coordination secretary, which was also called the chief secretary, was changed into the planning and management secretary and internal inspection was transferred to the office of the senior secretary for civil government. To enhance political affairs, the first and second senior secretaries of political affairs were reorganized into the political affairs secretary, the political affairs and planning secretary, and the civil society secretary.

The finance and economy secretary and the finance secretary under the secretary office of economic affairs were transformed into the economy and finance secretary. The first and second national project secretaries under the national project coordination senior secretary office were changed into the national project secretary and the culture and art secretary. And the tourism and sports secretary under the education, science, and culture senior secretary office was integrated into the culture, sports, and tourism secretary.

Former lawmaker Park Hyung-joon was named as the new public relations and planning senior secretary, and Lee Dong-woo, strategic planning director of the Korea Economic Daily, was appointed as the first public relations secretary. Lee Sung-bok, former senior administrator of the public relations and planning senior secretary office, was named as the second public relations secretary, and Jeong Yong-hwa, former consultant of the presidential transition committee, and Kim Cheol-gyun, former vice president of Daum, a major Korean Web portal, were named as speechwriting and documentation secretary and public communication secretary, respectively.

Kim Hae-soo, former Grand National Party deputy spokesperson, was named as political affairs secretary under the senior secretary office for political affairs, and Kim Doo-woo, the second political affairs secretary, was appointed as political affairs and planning secretary. Yim Sam-jin, former secretary general of Green Korea United, a civic group, was named as civil society secretary.

Jeong In-cheol, former member of the presidential transition committee, was confirmed as planning and management secretary under the presidential chief of staff, and Jang Dasaro, the first political affairs secretary, was named as the first civil government secretary under the senior secretary office for civil government. Oh Se-gyeong, an attorney, was named as the second civil government secretary.

The first finance and economy secretary, Kim Dong-yeon, will be economy and finance secretary and the first national project secretary, Heo Gyeong-wook, will be national project secretary, Tourism and sports secretary Mo Cheol-min will be the culture, sports, and tourism secretary.

Yeon Gyu-yong, director of the president security office, and former KBS reporter Park Seon-kyu were named as second press secretaries and the first press secretary, Gwak Gyeong-soo, was appointed as the second spokesperson.

A high-ranking source of the presidential office said, “There is a possibility that new figures can be named in three or four positions including some positions that will be integrated.”

The first presidential office structure plan put the planning senior secretary at the top among senior secretaries but the second structure pushed that position back, moving up the political affairs secretary and economy senior secretary.

swpark@donga.com