President names third health minister nominee, completes major reshuffle

Politics

Published: 07 Sep. 2022, 18:04

President names third health minister nominee, completes major reshuffle

President Yoon Suk-yeol named Cho Kyoo-hong, the first vice health minister, as his health and welfare minister nominee on Wednesday. Cho is pictured delivering a speech at social welfare event in Seoul on Sept. 7. [HEALTH MINISTRY]

President Yoon Suk-yeol named his third health minister nominee Wednesday and completed a major reshuffle of the presidential office ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

Cho Kyoo-hong, the first vice health minister, was picked to head the Ministry of Health and Welfare, presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki announced during a press briefing.

As a traditional economic bureaucrat, Cho has previously served in senior positions at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and has "rich experience and expertise in budget and the finance field," according to the presidential office.

Cho, who has already been serving as acting health minister, was selected for "continuity in carrying out the Health Ministry's current tasks," according to Kim, and is expected to lead the Yoon administration's key initiatives for pension and health insurance reforms, as well as enable more efficient expenditure in social welfare and strengthen public health care.

Cho received a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in public administration from Seoul National University and his doctorate degree in economics from the University of Colorado.

He served in the Lee Myung-bak Blue House in the presidential planning and management office. Cho was a director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2018 to October last year. He was a member of Yoon's presidential transition committee's economics subcommittee and contributed to forming his economy-related pledges.

The health minister position has been vacant for some four months after former Minister Kwon Deok-cheol resigned on May 25, shortly after Yoon became president.

Cho is Yoon's third health minister pick after Chung Ho-young, a former president of Kyungpook National University Hospital, and former lawmaker Kim Seung-hee withdrew their candidacies over various controversies. Chung faced allegations that he used his position to help his two children get admitted to a medical school and to help his son avoid active-duty military service. Kim was accused of misappropriating political funds as a lawmaker.

Kim said that more time is needed to screen a new education minister nominee and that a candidate will be named "as soon as possible."

Park Soon-ae, Yoon's first education minister, resigned in early August amid backlash over a policy to lower the school entry age by one year to five years old. She also faced criticism for a drunk driving record.

Kim In-chul, the president's first education minister pick and a former president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, also withdrew his candidacy after facing accusations of arranging preferential treatment for his children.

Minister nominees undergo confirmation hearings in the National Assembly but can be appointed without parliamentary approval.

The presidential office also completed its first major reshuffle since the launch of the Yoon administration, just before the four-day Chuseok holiday which begins Friday.

It was a larger-scale reorganization of the presidential office than initially expected, including the replacement of some 50 staffers, the creation of new positions and the recruitment of new faces to strengthen its efficiency.

This reorganization of the presidential office comes as the Yoon administration has faced criticism for poor personnel choices including allegations that some staffers were connected to Yoon, first lady Kim Keon-hee or lawmakers in the People Power Party (PPP) that are considered the president's close allies. Yoon saw plummeting approval ratings in early August, dropping to below 30 percent in part because of continued controversies involving the presidential office.

After Yoon's press conference to mark 100 days in office in mid-August, during which the president promised to better listen to the public, the presidential office has been forecasting that changes will be made to reflect such criticism.

The presidential office said that Jun Hee-kyung, a former lawmaker, was named as new first secretary for political affairs and Jang Kyung-sang, former secretary-general of the Management Institute for the State, as second secretary for political affairs after their predecessors resigned in late August.

Chung Yong-wook, secretary to the prime minister for civil affairs, was tapped as a new secretary post tasked with handling people's proposals under the office of the senior presidential secretary for civil society.

Kang In-sun, the current presidential spokesperson, was appointed to the newly created position of secretary for overseas public relations and will double as foreign press spokesperson. Lee Jae-myoung, the deputy presidential spokesman, will take on her duties until a new spokesperson is named.

The office of the religious and multicultural affairs secretary has been renamed the office of social empathy, while the digital communications secretary, under the senior secretary for civil society office, was shifted to the senior secretary for public relations office.

"As we reached 100 days, we conducted a wide-ranging organizational review on all aspects of work discipline and to see if appropriate individuals are in the right posts for their given tasks and roles," said a senior presidential official. "This personnel reshuffle is not for political purposes, but to best serve the people by enabling the presidential office to work more efficiently, as the president has said."

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