Cheong Wa Dae names new press secretary

Kim Jin-gak

Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that Kim Jin-gak, a deputy managing editor of the Hankook Ilbo, a Korean daily newspaper, was appointed presidential secretary for public relations planning.

Kim served as editor of the opinion department of the newspaper before being named deputy managing editor in September. He started his journalism career as a reporter at the daily in 1990.

The secretarial position has been vacant since Kim’s predecessor, Choi Hyung-du, recently joined the camp of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, who is vying to get nominated to run for Seoul mayor in the June 4 local polls on the ticket of the ruling Saenuri Party.