Pres. Park replaces four senior secretaries

A female presidential secretary for political affairs has been named for the first time in Korea’s constitutional history.

President Park Geun-hye appointed Cho Yoon-sun, minister of gender equality and family affairs, as the new senior presidential secretary for political affairs on Thursday. By picking Cho, who has been closely following Park since serving as Park’s spokesperson during the 2012 presidential election, the president apparently seeks to boost communications with the political circle.

President Park made a surprise choice of the previous political affairs secretary, Park Joon-woo, a former diploma, in last August in an attempt to establish a new form of relations with the political circle. However, as Secretary Park failed to make good chemical harmony with “Yeouido (National Assembly) politics,” controversy intensified over a lack of communications. This is the reason the president picked Cho, who has her signature sociability.

Cho has emerged as “Cinderella” of the Park Geun-hye administration, as she assumed the presidential political affairs secretary post after serving as spokesperson during the presidential election and a minister. She has shifted down in ranks from a minister to the vice-minister level post of a senior presidential secretary this time. But analysts say she has broadened her political stature given the political weight of a senior political affairs secretary.

Some observers say that since Cho holds less of political weight as a lawmaker elected under the proportional representation system. A source at the presidential office said, “As Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon is the de facto channel of communications with the leadership of the ruling party, Cho’s appointment would be aimed more at recovering relationship with the opposition parties.”

Ahn Jong-beom, a lawmaker with the ruling Saenuri Party, has been named the new senior presidential secretary for economic affairs. Dubbed President Park’s economic brain, Ahn served as the policy architect of the Park administration during the election campaign. In combination with Choi Kyung-hwan, a strong candidate for the deputy prime minister for economy in the Cabinet, Ahn has formed a "two-top" leadership who will spearhead galvanization of the economy. After being named the senior presidential secretary post, Ahn has resigned as lawmaker that he had been chosen through the proportional representation system.

Kim Young-hwan, former head of the violent crime department at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office, has been named the new senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. As Kim hails from Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, four of the five presidential secretary or higher-level officials at the civil affairs office have been filled with people from Daegu or North Gyeongsang. All of them had careers in the judiciary and legal community.

Song Gwang-yong, former president of Seoul National University of Education, has been appointed as the new senior presidential secretary for education and culture. Song reportedly served for 13 years as a director of the Jeongsoo Scholarship Foundation, during which time he built relationship with the then Chairwoman Park. Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon, who has been under the opposition’s pressure to resign, is set to retain the post.