Former lawmaker Chae Yi-bae has been nominated as chief of staff to Prime Minister Han Seong-sook (Vice Minister level).
The prime minister's office said Chae is set to be formally appointed chief of staff on the 11th. The office introduced Deputy Minister Chae as "an economics expert with political acumen who has worked to ease polarization by creating a fair competitive environment and achieving sustainable economic growth."
It added that "by assisting Prime Minister Han, who has emphasized growth for all citizens, Chae will help deliver government results the public can feel by supporting the great transformations of AX (artificial intelligence transformation) and GX (green transformation), as well as the recovery of the livelihood economy."
Born in Gunsan, North Jeolla, former lawmaker Chae served as secretary of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) Economic Democratization Committee, a research fellow at the Good Corporate Governance Research Center, and a research fellow at the Economic Reform Research Institute. During the split of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, he was elected through proportional representation by the People's Party, which was launched under the lead of lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, and his party affiliation changed to the Bareun Mirae Party and the Minsaeng Party amid political realignments.
Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, he joined the Democratic Party along with former governor Kim Kwan-young under the party-wide amnesty pushed by then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to achieve a grand unification of the liberal and progressive camps.