Yoon's chief of staff resigns; first vice FM named as national security adviser

From left are new presidential Chief of Staff Lee Kwan-sup, new Director of National Policy Sung Tae-yoon and new Director of National Security, Chang Ho-jin. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday named First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin as his new national security adviser and Lee Kwan-sup, the director of national policy at the presidential office, as his new chief of staff.

Outgoing chief of staff Kim Dae-ki said he has held the position since the Yoon administration took office in May last year and that now is the time for him to go. Kim said he first offered to resign and Yoon later approved his decision.

Kim said incoming chief of staff Lee will take office Jan. 1, 2024.

Still, Kim's resignation came as a surprise because his successor, Lee, was named director of national policy only about a month ago.

Sung Tae-yoon, an economics professor at Yonsei University, will assume Lee's position.

Chang, a career diplomat who served as Yoon's first ambassador to Russia, will succeed Cho Tae-yong as director of national security after Cho was nominated last week for chief of the National Intelligence Service.

Ambassador to Germany Kim Hong-kyun, who also served as deputy foreign minister and South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, will succeed Chang as first vice foreign minister.

The position of second vice foreign minister has also been vacant since Oh Young-ju was nominated earlier this month to be minister of SMEs and startups.

Candidates for the position included Kang In-sun, a presidential spokesperson for foreign press, and Sohn Ji-ae, who previously served as CNN's Seoul bureau chief and is a visiting professor at Ewha Womans University. (Yonhap)