Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (2nd from R) visits the construction site for a national museum in Sejong, 109 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 7, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Prime Minister Kim Min-seok was inaugurated Monday at a ceremony in the central administrative city of Sejong, where he plans to remain the rest of the week to focus on regional development issues.
Kim’s inauguration took place four days after the National Assembly confirmed his nomination in a vote boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party, making him the first prime minister under President Lee Jae Myung.
During the ceremony at the government complex in Sejong, 109 kilometers south of Seoul, Kim vowed to help the nation “overcome the wounds of insurrection and the second IMF crisis,” referring to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law, as well as the country’s economic challenges.
Before the ceremony, he visited a nearby museum construction site to check laborers’ working conditions and preparedness against the current heat wave.
Kim’s official schedule this week will center on events in Sejong, which is home to many government ministries, including his own office and the finance ministry.
This comes after Lee asked the new prime minister to “thoroughly look after Sejong” to help fulfill his campaign pledge to achieve balanced development across regions.
Later in the day, Kim met with representatives of a major doctors’ association, trainee doctors and medical students to hear their views on key healthcare issues amid the prolonged medical impasse.
Thousands of trainee doctors have walked off their job since February last year in protest against the government’s medical school quota increase and other reform measures, which has caused serious disruptions to medical services, and Lee has called for dialogue to help resolve the matter.
Since the launch of the new government, the medical community has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with the government and the National Assembly.
On Tuesday, Vice Health Minister Lee Hyung-hoon is scheduled to hold a meeting with major medical organizations, officials said.
(Yonhap)
