President Lee Jae-myung said on the 28th that he appointed Hong Ji-seon, current vice mayor of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, as the second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Hong is regarded as a career civil servant with extensive frontline experience from policy design to execution.
Vice Minister Hong was born in April 1970 in Donghae, Gangwon, and graduated from Seongnam Seogo High School and Hanyang University's department of civil engineering. He went on to earn a master's in civil engineering from Hanyang University and a master's in urban and regional planning from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and entered public service by passing the second local civil service exam. In Gyeonggi Province, he served as director of construction, director of rail, port, and logistics, and head of urban housing, and he is currently vice mayor of Namyangju. Over about 28 years, he held key posts across rail, road, and construction in Gyeonggi Province.
However, some view Hong's nomination as somewhat unexpected. It is considered unusual for a sitting vice mayor of a basic local government to be tapped as a central government Vice Minister. The presidential office said he is "the right person to dynamically carry out the state agenda of addressing transportation blind spots, including expanding transportation infrastructure for balanced regional development and achieving transportation welfare for all citizens."
Meanwhile, former Vice Minister Kang Hee-eop, appointed in Jul., was replaced after five months. The Vice Minister post, which typically lasts about one to two years, was relinquished after an unusually short period. The presidential office said it was "a personnel move to boost policy execution, as there are not a few accumulated problems in the field."