Blue House gets two new secretaries

Lee Ki-heon, left, new Blue House secretary for civil affairs, and Lee Won-koo, new presidential secretary for anticorruption. [BLUE HOUSE]

President Moon Jae-in nominated new Blue House secretaries Friday.

The Blue House announced that Lee Ki-heon, 53, presidential secretary for civil participation, was named the new secretary for civil affairs and justice, replacing Lee Gwang-cheol.

Lee Kwang-cheol resigned at the beginning of the month after being indicted for abuse of power. He is accused of masterminding an illegal travel ban in March 2019 on former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui, who was involved in a bribery scandal.

Lee Ki-heon is a graduate of Kyung Hee University. He served as general affairs secretary for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and as a senior official in the Blue House National Security Office’s foreign policy division and in the civil affairs office for the Moon administration.

Lee Won-koo, 50, deputy presidential secretary for anticorruption, was promoted to succeed Kim Gi-pyo, presidential secretary for anticorruption.

Kim, appointed to the post in March, resigned last month amid allegations of questionable real estate dealings.

Lee Won-koo is a graduate of Hanyang University. He practiced law privately before joining the Moon government.

Park Kyung-mee, Blue House spokesperson, said in a statement, “As the new secretaries have experience working as deputy secretaries in the relevant offices, they are well aware of the related tasks and are expected to faithfully carry out their duties.”

The secretaries will begin their new jobs Saturday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]