President Lee Jae-myung on the 20th appointed Cho Yong-beom, 54, the budget office director of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, as the new Vice Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget (photo).
Kang Yu-jung, the senior presidential secretary and chief spokesperson, said in a written briefing that day, "Vice Minister Cho is the top expert in the budget and fiscal field who has served in key posts, including budget office director," and stated accordingly.
Kang, the chief spokesperson, said, "Vice Minister Cho is assessed to have contributed to stabilizing people's livelihoods and reviving the economy by passing the supplemental budget to overcome the Middle East war crisis in the first half of this year in the shortest time and exceeding the fiscal execution target," adding, "Based on expertise in budget and finance, Cho is expected to establish a mid- to long-term national development strategy and support a great leap forward for Korea through investment in future response strategies such as artificial intelligence (AI)."
Born in Jeju, Vice Minister Cho graduated from Seoul National University's law school and earned a master's in law from the University of Wisconsin in the United States before starting public service by passing the 39th higher civil service exam. During the Ministry of Economy and Finance (now the Ministry of Planning and Budget) period, Cho served as director of the Budget Coordination Division, Spokesperson, and director-general for budget coordination, and at the Presidential Secretariat, Cho worked as an administrative official in the Office of the Secretary for Economic Policy.