President Lee Jae-myung created the office of the secretary for youth and future under the presidential chief of staff and appointed Kim Tae-won, co-CEO of InnoRed and former executive director at Google Korea, 46, to the post. Kang Yu-jung, the Cheong Wa Dae senior presidential spokesperson, said on the 16th, "The office of the secretary for youth and future was set up to actively address youth issues and present a vision for the future," adding, "We aim to deliver practical changes that are easy to feel from the perspective of young people."
Born in 1980, Secretary Kim graduated from Korea University with a degree in sociology and served as managing director and director (senior executive director) of global business at Google Korea. Kim also worked as a civilian member of the presidential youth committee and as an outside director at Korea Investment Holdings and Korea Investment & Securities Co., and most recently served as co-CEO of the digital advertising agency InnoRed.
Kang, the senior presidential spokesperson, said, "It will be an organization that understands and empathizes with the hearts of young people and communicates together," adding, "As a mentor to the young generation who has shown great interest in youth issues and maintained steady communication through various nonprofit foundations, Secretary Kim is expected to craft innovative future strategies and creative policies from the viewpoint of young people."
The appointment came as the erosion of support among people in their 20s and 30s became more pronounced, overlapping with the June 3 local election "poor ballot management incident" and the "Starbucks controversy." Right after the election, Cheong Wa Dae designated "youth policy" as a core task of state affairs and has issued multiple related messages. It also ordered governmentwide measures that link the biggest issues across society—real estate and polarization in financial markets—to youth issues. In particular, President Lee said he would create a future response fund with the "additional tax revenue" expected from the semiconductor boom and concentrate it on four areas, including support for the young generation.