Moon names new secretary for New Southern and Northern policies

From left are new presidential secretary for civil participation Kang Kwun-chan, presidential secretary for New Southern and Northern policies Kim Jeong-hoi and presidential secretary for land and transport Kim Yi-tak. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

By Nam Hyun-woo

Kim Jeong-hoi, deputy minister for trade negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was appointed as presidential secretary for New Southern and Northern policies, which are aimed at bolstering economic ties with countries south and north to Korea.

Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said Tuesday that President Moon Jae-in named Kim, 50, as his new secretary in charge of the policies. The post has been vacant since Kim's predecessor, Yeo Han-koo, was appointed as trade minister earlier this month.

Kim is a career bureaucrat, taking key posts related to Korea's U.S.-bound trade at the trade ministry. He also served at the ministry's departments on vehicle-technology convergence and energy resources, before becoming the deputy minister for trade negotiation last December.

Kim graduated from Seoul National University's Department of Economics and earned his master's degree at Boston University.

The New Southern and Northern policies are Moon's initiative to enhance economic ties with southern countries including ASEAN member nations and India, and northern countries including Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

With the southern countries, the President seeks to improve their ties with Korea to a level matching the four powerhouses surrounding Korea ― the U.S., China, Japan and Russia ― so they can build a future-oriented partnership toward prosperity. With northern countries, Moon seeks to capitalize on their economic growth potential and connectivity to Europe.

Kim's appointment is interpreted as President Moon's bid to pursue stability among his aides by hiring officials who have been serving in related government organizations. Along with Kim, Moon appointed Kang Kwun-chan as secretary of civil participation and Kim Yi-tak as secretary of land and transport. The former is from the office of presidential planning secretary and the latter is from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

“The new secretaries have been building their experience and expertise in Cheong Wa Dae and respective ministries, and they have profound understanding of the Moon Jae-in administration's policy philosophy,” the spokesperson said in a written briefing. “As they have been addressing key pending issues so far, they are expected to play their roles with responsibility.”

Kang is a Korea University graduate and also earned his Ph.D. in political diplomacy from the graduate school there. Land and transport secretary Kim is a Seoul National University graduate.