President Lee Jae-myung on the 21st appointed Park Jeong-seong, vice minister for trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, as trade minister at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. It comes a week after Yeo Han-koo, the former head of the Office of the Minister for Trade and the "trade commander," was abruptly dismissed on the 14th amid pressure on investment from the Trump administration.
Park, the new head of the Office of the Minister for Trade, has served as director general for trade and investment and vice minister for trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), co-chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) investment facilitation negotiations, and chief working-level representative of the task force for U.S. tariff negotiations, holding key posts in trade and trade policy for nearly 30 years.
Kang Yu-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, said the appointment was made because Park is "a figure who will resolve complex trade issues through a sophisticated negotiation strategy," adding that Park "has overseen working-level U.S. tariff and investment talks and is the right person to maximize the national interest while maintaining continuity in negotiations amid urgent U.S.-related trade issues."
Lee also appointed Choi Yong-cheol, vice administrator of the National Fire Agency, as National Fire Agency administrator, a post that had been vacant since June. The former administrator, Kim Seung-ryong, stepped down through voluntary resignation three weeks after being placed under inspection at Lee's direction in May. As he had been embroiled in controversy over a purported overseas junket, many said it was effectively a dismissal in the form of resignation.
Choi, the new National Fire Agency administrator, has served as acting head of the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters and as the agency's vice administrator. Kang, the senior spokesperson, said Choi is "a firefighting expert who has worked both on the front lines of rescue and in key policy departments for 27 years," adding, "In line with the state goal of putting the people's lives and safety first in all areas of governance, he is expected to build a thorough disaster prevention and response system."