Presidential office creates new chief of policy role in reshuffle

Lee Kwan-sup, senior presidential secretary for policy planning. [YONHAP]

In a major reshuffle of the presidential office, a new presidential chief of policy role has been created, which will manage the presidential senior secretary's office for economic affairs and social policy.

The presidential office said on Thursday that Lee Kwan-sup, the president's senior secretary of policy planning, has been appointed to the newly created position.

Presidential office to revive senior science secretary post

Lee will also manage a newly created office dedicated to science and technology within the presidential office.

"The new post had been created to strengthen the negotiation and adjustment between the administration and political parties so that policies could be pushed forward with speed," Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said.

"The new post is to look after the public's livelihood by evaluating economic policies in depth," Kim added.

The departments under the policy planning senior secretary, including the national planning, national agenda, policy coordination, government information and speech and communication office, will be placed under the command of the new post.

The new post will become one of the presidential office's top posts under the president after the chief of staff and national security adviser.

The office, however, did not give details about the newly created science and technology secretary post or who will take the role.

"It would take time in to choose someone," a high-ranking presidential office official said. "Yet we will try to come up with a plan for the organization as early as at the end of the year or early next year."

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]