Lee appoints five new senior aides

President Lee Jae-myung reshuffled his senior staff on June 21 as he entered his second year in office, naming five aides to key posts, including the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, the senior secretary for public affairs and communications, the senior secretary for social affairs, and two deputy directors of the National Security Office.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik announced the appointments during a briefing, describing the changes as a substantial shake-up of the presidential office. Lee named former Eastern District Prosecutors' Office chief Han Chan-sik as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, former Yonhap News Agency President Seong Gi-hong as senior secretary for public affairs and communications, and Kim Kyung-ja, a visiting professor at Woosuk University and former senior vice chair of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), as senior secretary for social affairs.

Kang said Han would help carry forward the administration's prosecutorial reform agenda, including plans to establish a Serious Crimes Investigation Office and a Public Prosecution Office. His appointment continues the administration's practice of tapping former prosecutors for the influential civil affairs post, following Oh Kwang-soo and Bong Wook. The move comes as the presidential office weighs concerns over proposals by hard-line members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to strip prosecutors in the planned Public Prosecution Office of all supplementary investigative powers. Kang said Seong would serve as a bridge between the government and the public by listening closely to public concerns and helping citizens better understand the administration's achievements.

Kim, a pharmacist by training, worked with President Lee during the campaign to establish Seongnam Medical Center and later served as acting chair of the KCTU in 2019. Following the appointment of Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon, a former KCTU chair, another senior post in the administration will now be held by a former labor federation official.

Lee also named Kang Geon-jak, a member of the Presidential Committee on Future Defense Strategy, as first deputy director of the National Security Office. Song Ki-ho, the presidential secretary for economic security and a former member of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, was appointed the office's third deputy director.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com