Yoon names new chief nuclear envoy

South Korean Ambassador to Britain Kim Gunn, who was named as Seoul's new chief nuclear envoy by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Friday, is seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo. Korea Times file

Kim Chang-ki / Courtesy of National Tax Service

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday named Ambassador to Britain Kim Gunn as his first chief negotiator for the North Korean nuclear issue while tapping 20 other vice minister-level officials.

Kim, who also worked as deputy foreign minister before becoming the top envoy to Britain last year, will serve as Seoul's point man on the North Korean nuclear issue as special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs.

Park Min-shik/ Courtesy of President Yoon Suk-yeol's office

Yoon also named Kim Chang-ki, former head of the National Tax Service's Busan office, as new NTS commissioner, while Park Min-shik, former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, was nominated as veteran affairs minister.

The other appointments include Yoon Tae-sik, a senior finance ministry official, as the chief of the Korea Customs Office; former prosecutor Lee Noh-kong as vice justice minister; and Cho Yong-man, current secretary-general of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, as vice minister of culture, sports and tourism. (Yonhap)