President Lee Jae-myung on the 10th appointed Im Gi-geun, 58, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, as the new Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
Seong Gi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, announced the appointments that day and said the appointee is "a top expert in economic policy who has served as director-general for policy coordination at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and as the chief deliberation officer for overall budgeting," adding, "Based on experience coordinating complex economic policies, we expect a reasonable coordination of interests among ministries and stable management of state affairs."
Im, a native of Haenam, South Jeolla, served as director-general for policy coordination and chief deliberation officer for overall budgeting at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (now the Ministry of Finance and Economy), then as Administrator of the Public Procurement Service, and under the Lee Jae-myung administration as the 2nd Vice Minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) and Vice Minister at the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget. Seong said the appointee is "the right person to assist the prime minister, backing Korea's leap to an ultra-grid industrial powerhouse and growth for all people, thereby realizing an irreplaceable Korea."
◇ Also drew attention for "principled remarks" at Cabinet meetings
Early this year, as part of a government reorganization, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) was split into the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget, and Im, who had been the 2nd Vice Minister at MOEF, moved to the post of Vice Minister at the newly created budget ministry.
When the budget minister post was vacant at the time, Im attended Cabinet meetings for about three months as acting minister, and drew attention for flexibly exchanging questions with President Lee on various budget projects and economic policies and persuading the president. Im's "principled remarks" were reportedly considered in the selection process for OPC chief as well.
At a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 1, Im, referring to President Lee's proposal to allocate an extra budget so the central government would fund personnel costs for local governments' "delinquency management teams," said, "It is not central government revenue that increases, but local government revenue," and added, "Do not conclude that the state will unconditionally support this; considering precedents in which Seongnam and Gyeonggi Province bore the costs themselves or split them in half, please review those circumstances comprehensively." President Lee accepted the point and said the matter should be reviewed further.