Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Yoon to complete Cabinet nominations by next week
From left are Choo Kyung-ho, Choi Sang-mok, Park Jin, Shin Won-sik and Kwon Young-se. Korea Times photo
By Kang Seung-woo
Choo Kyung-ho, leading candidate for deputy prime minister for economic affairs
By Kang Seung-woo
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is set to follow up his nomination for prime minister with the designation of ministers by the end of next week, according to his spokesperson, Monday.
Yoon, scheduled to take office, May 10, tapped former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Sunday, to serve as the first premier in his administration, kicking off the process of nominating Cabinet members.
“Given that about three weeks are required for the National Assembly confirmation process, we need to announce the full list of Cabinet nominees by the end of next week,” Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing.
“This week, the president-elect will be committed to making selections for his incoming Cabinet.”
With the appointment of the prime minister in the rearview mirror, attention is now on who will be named deputy prime minister for economic affairs and chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Yoon wants these people to work together with the prime minister as “one economic team” to stabilize the economy.
Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party is mentioned as the most likely candidate for the deputy prime minister post thanks to his past career
The two-term lawmaker, who served as the first vice finance minister and the FSC vice chairman, is regarded as the perfect fit as he has a full grasp of overall economic policy. In addition, he is now in charge of the subcommittee for planning and coordination at Yoon's transition committee.
Along with Choo, Choi Joong-kyung, a former knowledge economy minister under the 2008-13 Lee Myung-bak administration, is also being discussed for the post.
Choi Sang-mok, another former vice finance minister who heads the transition committee's first economy division, is highly anticipated to be tapped to head the FSC, while Kim So-young, an economics professor at Seoul National University, is emerging as a favored candidate for senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
“I will announce the nomination of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs soon enough after holding discussions with the prime minister nominee,” Yoon said, Sunday.
Along with the economic team, the president-elect is in the process of forming a national security team as he believes that these are the two most urgent issues facing the nation.
Two PPP lawmakers ― Reps. Park Jin and Cho Tae-yong ― stand out as front-runners in a pool of candidates for foreign minister.
Park, a four-term lawmaker who chaired the National Assembly Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee from 2008 to 2010, is expected to get the nod from Yoon over Cho, who served as the first vice foreign minister and the deputy national security advisor under the 2013-17 Park Geun-hye administration.
Both Park and Cho are now in the United States as part of a delegation to coordinate foreign and security policies with Washington ahead of Yoon's inauguration. If one is nominated foreign minister, the other could be tapped as the next ambassador to the U.S., according to sources.
Kim Sung-han, a former vice foreign minister under the Lee administration and one of Yoon's key policy mentors, is arguably the top contender for Cheong Wa Dae's national security advisor.
A professor at Korea University's Graduate School of International Studies, Kim served as the president-elect's chief foreign policy advisor during the election campaign, while heading the diplomacy and security division at the transition committee. Yoon and Kim are also old friends who attended elementary school together.
Rep. Shin Won-sik, a retired three-star Army general, and Kim Yong-woo, a former Army chief of staff, are being mentioned as defense minister.
Rep. Kwon Young-se, the vice chairman of Yoon's transition committee, is among the candidates for justice minister.