Cheong Wa Dae replaces key aides before election

Presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung speaks about a reshuffle at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

Some key presidential aides are leaving Cheong Wa Dae to run in the upcoming general election, which is widely seen as a barometer of public judgment of President Moon Jae-in and his party.

The presidential office announced Monday a reshuffle to replace Youn Kun-young, director of the State Affairs Planning and Monitoring Office, and Joo Hyung-chul, chairman of the Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy, and other core members of Cheong Wa Dae. The presidential office will also undergo some organizational changes and create new posts such as the secretary for digital innovation under the senior presidential secretary for science and technology.

“The reshuffle is to improve policy efficiency and renew momentum for driving forward with state affairs in the latter phase of the administration,” presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in a briefing.

Youn, one of Moon's closest aides, led the preparations for the President's two summit meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018 ― the first meeting at the border village of Panmunjeom on the heels of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games in April and the second in Pyongyang in September. He was also closely involved in the arrangement of a historic three-way meeting of the leaders of the two Koreas and U.S. President Donald Trump at Panmunjeom in June 2019.

The latest reports said that Youn is expected to run for a National Assembly seat in Guro district in Seoul, currently occupied by Park Young-sun, a ruling party heavyweight and minister of SMEs and startups. The four-term lawmaker recently announced, with a few other Cabinet members, that she will forgo the upcoming election to concentrate on her ministerial post.

Joo, one of Moon's trusted economic aides, was the key figure behind the President's trademark diplomatic policy to engage more with Southeast Asia. He is rumored to be looking to run for a parliamentary seat in his hometown of Daejeon.

Youn will be replaced by Lee Jin-seok who has served as the presidential secretary for policy coordination. Park Jin-kyu, a trade secretary in the presidential office, will replace Joo.

Another reshuffle is expected in the coming days as more presidential secretaries may leave to join the election race.

The reshuffle comes with the all-important election less than 100 days away. Cheong Wa Dae sees a victory for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as vital to revive public support in the President, who entered the halfway point of his five-year presidency in November 2019. The President has vowed to make his fourth year in office a year full of “outcomes” from his policy-making.