President Lee Jae-myung on the 2nd nominated Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Hong-geun as the first Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget. It came a little over 40 days after the nomination of conservative figure Lee Hye-hoon was withdrawn in January amid controversies over "family sham subscription" and "abuse of aides." Lee also nominated Hwang Jong-woo, an international cooperation commissioner at the Korea Maritime Cooperation Center from Busan, to lead the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), which was left vacant after former Minister Chun Jae-soo resigned over "alleged ties to the Unification Church."
Cheong Wa Dae Senior Secretary for Public Communication Lee Gyu-yeon said that afternoon at Chunchugwan that the president had nominated or appointed a total of 11 people, including four ministers in political posts, two for constitutionally independent bodies, and five for presidential policy committees.
◇ "symbol of unity" Lee Hye-hoon falls… shifts to a senior ruling-party figure who served as chief of staff
Park is a senior lawmaker who has won four consecutive terms since the 19th National Assembly in Seoul's Jungnang B district. Born in Goheung, South Jeolla, Park served as floor leader of the Democratic Party and chairperson of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget & Accounts. Park also served as chair of the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning's policy planning subcommittee and is currently a member of the National Assembly's Fiscal Planning Committee.
At one point, Park was classified as part of Minpyeongryeon (National Alliance for Democracy and Peaceful Reunification), a group of lawmakers aligned with the Kim Geun-tae faction within the Democratic Party, and served as chief of staff to then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung during the 20th presidential election. Senior Secretary Lee explained the appointment by saying, "Nominee Park Hong-geun is primarily a budget policy expert who has served on the Budget and Accounts Committee and as Operations Committee chairperson," adding, "We judged Park to be the right person with the ability to lead an organization and hands-on expertise."
Earlier, in the name of "national unity," the president had nominated former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon of the United Future Party (UFP), the predecessor of the People Power Party. However, during vetting, it became known that the spouse received the highest bonus points for an apartment subscription in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu last year by listing a child—who was in a state of household separation and had not filed a marriage registration—as a dependent. It also emerged that abusive language had been used toward a parliamentary aide.
However, even while withdrawing the nomination at the time, Cheong Wa Dae said, "The president's will for unity will be maintained." In response to claims that appointing a ruling-party lawmaker is far from unity, Senior Secretary Lee said, "The Lee Jae-myung administration's unity and pragmatism will continue," adding, "Our overall personnel direction is grounded in pragmatism and unity, but there is no notion that for any given post we must use this or that person."
Nominee Hwang, tapped to be Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), graduated from Seoul National University's department of jurisprudence and entered public service by passing the 38th higher civil service exam. Hwang held key MOF posts, including director of port and logistics planning, director of ocean policy, Spokesperson, director-general of maritime safety, and Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination.
Attorney Jung Il-yeon was appointed chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and Song Sang-gyo, former Secretary-General of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was appointed chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Both chairs are from Jeonju, North Jeolla. For National Election Commission commissioner candidates, Sookmyung Women's University professor Yoon Gwang-il and attorney Jeon Hyun-jung were named.
The president appointed Namgoong Beom, an adviser at S-1, former Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin, and KAIST emeritus professor of business and engineering Lee Byung-tae as vice chairs of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, a presidential government committee. Kang Nam-hoon, an emeritus professor at Hanshin University, was appointed vice chair of the Basic Society Committee, and Kim Ok-ju, head professor of the Department of Medical Humanities at Seoul National University College of Medicine, was appointed chair of the National Bioethics Committee.