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| President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol names Han Duck-soo, right, as the first prime minister of his government during a press conference at the presidential transition committee office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps |
By Nam Hyun-woo
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol named former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as the first premier of his administration.
During a press conference, Sunday, Yoon named the 72-year-old as the prime minister, saying he "served a number of key government posts, thanks to his expertise."
"The new government must pave the way for an economic rebound amid difficulties both inside and outside of the country and thoroughly prepare for an era in which the economy and national security together emerge as key tasks the government must handle," Yoon told reporters. "Han is a qualified nominee who can successfully coordinate the Cabinet and address pending national tasks based on his rich experience."
Han said Korea faces grave economic and geopolitical challenges and the country has to make adjustments in its strategies to address those tasks. He picked diplomacy based on national interests, fiscal prudence, balance of international payments and improvements in productivity as some of the main national tasks.
"As the prime minister nominee, I will make efforts for discussions and communication to set up policies that can be realized," Han said. "For this, national unity and cooperation between the conservative and liberal sides will be key elements for success."
Han was widely expected to become the first prime minister of the Yoon government due to his bipartisan and extensive experience in key government posts, both in the areas of economy and diplomacy.
Born in 1946 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Han is a Seoul National University graduate with a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
He spent most of his career as an economic bureaucrat. He served as vice minister of the then Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1997 and the trade minister of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1998 under the liberal Kim Dae-jung administration.
Under the subsequent Roh Moo-hyun administration, he took charge of Korea's signing of a free trade agreement with the U.S. in 2006 and became prime minister in 2007. Under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as Korea's ambassador to the U.S.
Since appointing a prime minister requires the approval of the National Assembly, which is dominated by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Yoon, who is from the main opposition People Power Party, appears to have picked a bipartisan figure in order to facilitate the approval process by the National Assembly before naming other Cabinet members.
"There have been many news reports anticipating Han as the prime minister of the Yoon government," Yoon's Chief of Staff Rep. Chang Je-won told reporters Sunday. "This is because the press was also thinking Han is a figure who can symbolize and carry on the new government's key agendas of economy, diplomacy, trade and national unity."
According to Chang, Yoon had a meeting with Han on Saturday and shared ideas on various state affairs.
During the meeting, Han requested the president-elect to introduce a new protocol in which the prime minister recommends a minister and the president will then decide. In addition, when ministers are appointed, they will recommend vice ministers to the president, so that the president can decide, in order to give more power and responsibility to each minister.
Yoon also agreed with that idea, Chang said.
As Yoon nominates the first prime minister, other positions in his Cabinet are expected to be filled in coming weeks.
Currently, Yoon's presidential transition committee members, Rep. Choo Kyung-ho and former first Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, are tapped as either deputy prime minister for economy or top presidential economic advisors. Korea University Prof. Kim Sung-han, Reps. Park Jin and Cho Tae-yong are mentioned as either national security advisor, foreign minister or other diplomatic posts.
Han told Yonhap News Agency that ministers would be named among "very predictable" figures.
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