President nominates candidates for education, gender equality ministers, FSC chief

From left are Choi Kyo-jin, nominee for education minister; Won Min-kyong, nominee for gender equality minister; Ju Biung-ghi, nominee for Fair Trade Commission chair; and Lee Eog-weon, nominee for Financial Services Commission chair. Courtesy of presidential office

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday nominated Choi Kyo-jin, superintendent of the education office in Sejong, as candidate for education minister, and attorney Won Min-kyong as the candidate for minister of gender equality and family.

The selection came around three weeks after the president withdrew his nomination of Lee Jin-sook for education minister over allegations of plagiarism and illegal overseas schooling for her children, and after Rep. Kang Sun-woo withdrew as gender equality minister candidate following accusations of abuse of power toward her aides.

Two months into the Lee administration, the education and gender equality ministries have remained without heads. The new nominees will now prepare for their parliamentary confirmation hearings, the dates of which haven't been set yet.

Choi began his career in 1981 as a middle school teacher and later served three terms as superintendent of Sejong City. He also advised the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development, earning a reputation for his strong grasp of regional education equity issues.

Won has worked in the legal field for more than two decades, focusing on supporting victims of sexual and domestic violence and improving related laws and systems.

She also served as a nonstanding commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission, advising on policies to protect women’s and children’s rights and addressing gender-based human rights violations.

Lee Chan-jin, who has been named as the new chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, speaks during a meeting in Jongno District, Seoul, July 21. Yonhap

Lee also nominated Ju Biung-ghi, a professor in the department of economics at Seoul National University, as head of the Fair Trade Commission. Ju has studied unfair practices in the business sector, including monopolies and internal transactions.

Lee Eog-weon, a special professor of economics at Seoul National University and a former vice finance minister, was tapped as the head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Ju and Lee Eog-weon will also have to go through confirmation hearings.

Meanwhile, the FSC recommended attorney Lee Chan-jin for governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). An FSS chief is recommended by the commission chair and appointed by the president.

He served as the president's attorney in his trial for alleged bribery related to a company's alleged illegal transfer of money to North Korea.