After completing the first local elections since taking office, President Lee Jae-myung is reviewing appointments with Jung Sung-ho, the justice minister, Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, and Han Seong-sook, the minister of SMEs and startups, as candidates for the next prime minister. With Prime Minister Kim Min-seok expected to resign as early as this week to run in the Democratic Party of Korea leadership primary, the new prime minister is also likely to be announced at the same time. Following the selection of a successor prime minister, a reshuffle of Blue House personnel and a cabinet shake-up also appear likely.
A Blue House official said in a phone call on the 4th, "We are considering the three as candidates for the next prime minister," and noted, "We are in the final stages of deliberation, carefully weighing various situations and roles." The official said that, given that the prime minister oversees the second-term cabinet of the Lee Jae-myung administration and effectively coordinates government policy, the focus is on "stability" and "continuity."
Within the cabinet, attention is on Minister Jung Sung-ho, the "big brother" of the pro-Lee faction. A Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate of the president, he has maintained ties for nearly 40 years. He served as general co-head of the Lee Jae-myung campaign headquarters in the 2017 presidential election, and in the 2022 presidential race, he supported the president as chief of special advisers. Selected as the first-term minister of justice in the Lee Jae-myung administration, he was tasked with the heavy responsibility of "prosecution reform," and in the process, he was attacked by hardline supporters for placing relative emphasis on the balance of power. He is also regarded as a senior politician who shares political views with the president without reserve and offers frank counsel.
When Minister Jung opened an X (formerly Twitter) account the previous day, it drew attention that the president introduced him by saying, "Please give a massive follow to welcome Mr. 'Jung Tiger' to the world of X." He is seen as a reasonable figure who served five terms as a lawmaker in northern Gyeonggi, a traditional conservative stronghold, and is evaluated by many People Power Party lawmakers as a mid-level leader "with whom dialogue works." Amid extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, it can also be read as a message symbolizing balance and integration.
Kang Hoon-sik, the "No. 2 in power," has long been mentioned as the next prime minister. While presidential chiefs of staff are typically behind-the-scenes aides, Kang is taking on unprecedented roles, from tariff negotiations to defense industry orders and energy sales. At the same time, as head of the personnel committee, he is also a "power broker" assisting the president's appointment authority. That signifies the president's deep trust. He is also known for "parting the hair of the workload exactly as the president wants" and relaying directives. He has already been cited multiple times as a figure suited to the role of a powerful prime minister.
Shortly after the government launched, as confusion in party–government relations surfaced, Kang was even named as a next pro-Lee contender for party leadership. Hailing from South Chungcheong and lightly affiliated with factions, he earned recognition as a strategist and planner while maintaining broad friendships with party lawmakers. However, as Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's will to vie for party leadership was so strong, it is said that his own decision on whether to run was settled early within the party.
Minister Han Seong-sook is cited as a "minister who often earns praise" at various public events, including Cabinet meetings. Formerly the CEO of Naver, she has led policies for small and midsize businesses and small merchants, a core focus of the president. True to her corporate background, she led the "startup project" and received favorable reviews from the president. In last year's policy briefing, public opinion said her exchanges of questions and answers with the president "felt like a high-level debate." If nominated for prime minister, she could become the second female prime minister in history after Han Myeong-sook.