Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Workers' rights activist-turned-politician named labor minister
Former lawmaker and Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo, now labor minister nominee, attends a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Ambassadors to Japan, Australia appointed
Former three-term lawmaker and two-term Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo has been named to lead the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the presidential office announced Wednesday.
Before entering politics in his mid-40s, the 73-year-old was deeply involved in Korea's pro-democracy movements during his 20s and 30s. With a significant reputation as a student activist who led mass protests, he was considered one of the most iconic figures in Korea's struggle for democracy.
The presidential office said that Kim's extensive experience in labor relations, the legislature and the executive branch makes him the appropriate candidate for the labor ministry post.
"Kim is deemed the appropriate person to accomplish the tasks of labor reform through dialogue and compromise with various stakeholders, especially at a time when pressing issues in the employment and labor sectors abound," the presidential office said.
Kim, who currently leads the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council, said he would make every effort to listen closely to the labor sector, business owners, the National Assembly and experts in the field.
"President Yoon Suk Yeol's labor reforms, based on the rule of law, have achieved significant results over the past two years, substantially reducing labor losses from labor-management disputes. However, protecting the vulnerable in the labor market, another crucial aspect of labor reform remains a complex and challenging issue," Kim said, vowing to create a Korea where labor, management and government can all thrive.
Korea National Diplomatic Academy Chancellor Park Cheol-hee, left, who is appointed as the new ambassador to Japan, and retired Navy Adm. Sim Seung-seob, the new ambassador to Australia / Yonhap
The presidential office has also appointed two new ambassadors.
Park Cheol-hee, currently chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and a globally famed scholar in Korea-Japan relations, has been appointed as the top envoy to Japan.
Born in 1963, Park has long been teaching at the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University (SNU) since he earned his doctorate at Columbia University. Before joining the faculty at SNU, he was an assistant professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan and at the Korean foreign ministry's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
There is an expectation that Park will further improve Korea-Japan relations under the Yoon administration. Notably, with next year marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two nations, he is expected to take on a leading role in significant bilateral cooperation.
Meanwhile, retired Navy Adm. Sim Seung-seob, who served as Korea's chief of naval staff from 2018 to 2020, has been appointed as the new ambassador to Australia.
Also born in 1963, the former Navy chief is expected to leverage his military expertise to strengthen military cooperation with Australia and expand defense exports.
Australia's announcement earlier this year of its intention to acquire 11 new general-purpose frigates for the Royal Australian Navy seems to have played a role in Sim's nomination as ambassador.
The top envoy position to Australia has been vacant since former Ambassador Lee Jong-sup, who was also a former defense minister, resigned in late March, less than a month after his appointment, due to his alleged involvement in the military's interference in the investigation into a Marine's death.