As a result of Lee Jae-myung's government's first organizational restructuring, the number of departments under the Prime Minister increased by 3 compared to the previous government, and 2 new vice ministers will be appointed, as revealed on the 8th.
This organizational restructuring will establish the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the National Data Agency, and the Intellectual Property Agency. The Ministry of Planning and Finance will inherit the budget functions from the previous Ministry of Economy and Finance. The National Data Agency will be elevated from the Statistics Korea, and the Intellectual Property Agency will be elevated from the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Thus, the number of departments will increase from 3 in the previous government to a total of 6.
The number of ministers will increase by one. A minister will be assigned to the Ministry of Planning and Finance and will serve as a member of the Cabinet. Consequently, the number of ministers will increase from 29 to a total of 30.
The number of vice ministers will also increase by one. Three new vice minister-level positions will be created, and two will be eliminated. The government plans to assign one vice minister to the Ministry of Planning and Finance and increase the number of vice ministers in the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups from one to two. Additionally, the Industrial Safety Division of the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be elevated to vice minister-level.
In contrast, after the dissolution of the Korea Communications Commission, the number of standing commissioners for the newly established Broadcasting, Media, and Communication Commission will decrease by two. Although the number of commissioners will increase from 5 to a total of 7, it has been decided to consist of 3 standing commissioners and 4 non-standing commissioners instead of all 5 as standing commissioners. After the organizational restructuring, the total number of vice minister-level positions will be 97.
Moreover, the Minister of Science and ICT will be elevated to a vice minister-level position. A vice minister for science and technology and artificial intelligence (AI) will be newly established for overall coordination in the field. The revival of the vice minister of science and technology comes 17 years after the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Instead, the social vice minister, who is concurrently serving as the Minister of Education, will be abolished. Consequently, there will be a system of two vice ministers along with the Minister of Economy.
Meanwhile, the total number of central administrative agencies resulting from this organizational restructuring will be 50, which is 2 more than the previous government. This is due to the increase of 3 departments and the elimination of 1 agency. The number of the existing 19 ministries and 6 commissions will remain unchanged.