(From L to R) Lee Hyoung-il, first vice finance minister; Lim Ki-keun, second vice finance minister; Park Yoon-joo, first vice foreign affairs minister; Kim Jina, second vice foreign affairs minister; Moon Shin-hak, first vice minister of industry; and Yeo Han-koo, trade minister, are seen in this combined photo provided by the presidential office on June 10, 2025. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae-myung has appointed vice ministers of finance, foreign affairs and industry as well as the country’s top trade negotiator, the presidential office said Tuesday.
Lee Hyoung-il, commissioner of Statistics Korea, has been named first vice finance minister, while Lim Ki-keun, administrator of the Public Procurement Service, was tapped as second vice finance minister.
Yeo Han-koo, who previously served as trade minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, was named chief trade negotiator.
Park Yoon-joo, minister at South Korea’s mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was appointed as first vice foreign minister. Kim Jina, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, was tapped as second vice foreign minister.
Moon Shin-hak, a seasoned bureaucrat known for leading the Moon administration’s nuclear phase-out policy, was chosen as the first vice minister of industry.
The presidential office said the appointments highlight Lee’s commitment to revitalizing the sluggish economy and resuming high-level diplomacy ahead of his attendance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada next week, which will mark his diplomatic debut.
“The appointments focused on naming experts in the economic and industrial sectors to swiftly address the economic crisis,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters.
“The Lee Jae-myung government formed a new lineup of foreign affairs experts to protect national interests at the upcoming G7 summit next week,” she added.
Lee has not yet nominated ministers since taking office following his victory in the June 3 election, which was called following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster over his failed martial law bid.
It is expected to take several weeks to form a new Cabinet, as ministerial nominees must undergo parliamentary confirmation hearings before their formal appointments. So far, Kim Min-seok, Lee’s election campaign chief, has been nominated as prime minister.
(Yonhap)
