Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Park names ex-lawmaker as political aide
By Jun Ji-hye
Hyun Ki-hwan
By Jun Ji-hye
President Park Geun-hye appointed former ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Hyun Ki-hwan as her new senior secretary for political affairs Friday, according to the presidential office.
The appointment came 54 days after former secretary Cho Yoon-sun quit in May to take responsibility for the delayed progress in passing a bill to reform the public employee pension system at the National Assembly.
Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said, “Hyun is a qualified person to assist the President in communicating with politicians as he has distinct sociability and a large network of relationships.”
Hyun, 56, a native of the port city of Busan, served as a lawmaker from 2008 to 2012 after working at the Federation of Korea Trade Unions, one of the nation’s two largest labor unions with more than 650,000 members.
He is the fourth presidential secretary for political affairs in the Park Geun-hye administration after Park Joon-woo, Rep. Lee Jung-hyun and Cho.
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