Korea names new ministers, commission chiefs in leadership reshuffle

The nominees include, from left, Hwang Jong-woo for minister of oceans and fisheries; Park Hong-keun for minister of planning and budget; Jung Il-yeon to head the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission; and Song Sang-kyo as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

Korea announced a slate of nominations for cabinet posts and key oversight bodies on Monday, drawing on senior bureaucrats, lawmakers, legal professionals and academics in a sweeping leadership reshuffle.

Hwang Jong-woo, a career civil servant, was nominated as minister of oceans and fisheries. Born in 1967 in Busan, Hwang has held several senior posts within the ministry, including as spokesperson, maritime safety director general and chief of its planning and coordination office. He currently chairs the International Cooperation Committee at the Korea Maritime Cooperation Center.

The government also named four-term lawmaker Park Hong-keun as minister of planning and budget. Park, born in 1969 in South Jeolla Province, has served as floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party and previously chaired the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. He also led the policy planning subcommittee of the presidential transition team.

Jung Il-yeon, a former senior judge who previously headed the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Court and served as a presiding judge at several Seoul courts, was nominated to chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. He is currently a lawyer in private practice.

Song Sang-kyo, a human rights lawyer, was nominated to lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Song previously served as secretary general of Lawyers for a Democratic Society and as director-general of the commission’s secretariat.

Two candidates were put forward as members of the National Election Commission: Yoon Kwang-il, a political science professor and dean at Sookmyung Women’s University, and Jeon Hyun-jeong, a former senior judge now working as an attorney.

The government also nominated Nam Gung-beom, Park Yong-jin and Lee Byeong-tae as vice chairs of the Regulatory Reform Committee, and named Kang Nam-hoon and Kim Ock-joo to senior posts on the Basic Society Committee and the National Bioethics Committee.

All nominees are subject to confirmation or review procedures under relevant laws.