Yoon names new chief of staff, national security adviser

Politics

Published: 28 Dec. 2023, 16:06

Yoon names new chief of staff, national security adviser

Outgoing chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, right, chats with his successor, Lee Kwan-sup, director of national policy, during a a press conference at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk Yeol named Lee Kwan-sup, national policy director at the presidential office, his new chief of staff Thursday after Kim Dae-ki tendered his resignation.

First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin was tapped as Yoon's new national security adviser.

Kim, who has served as Yoon's first chief of staff since the beginning of the administration in May 2022, announced his own replacement and other successive appointments in a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office.

"By the end of the year, it will be a little over 20 months since I have assumed the chief of staff post since the transition committee period," Kim told reporters. "This is about one-third of a president's term, and looking at past examples, there were more than three chiefs of staff during their terms. I thought I would have fulfilled my duty after about 20 months and spoke to the president about this recently."

Kim noted that Yoon agreed to his resignation earlier this week and that he will officially step down as chief of the staff at the end of this year, considering that it was an appropriate time as the president serves a five-year term.

His successor, Lee, has served in the newly created post of director of national policy at the presidential office since last month, meant to oversee the offices of senior secretaries for economic affairs, social affairs and science and technology affairs. Lee had previously served as Yoon's senior secretary for policy and planning.

Kim, a veteran bureaucrat, began his career at the Economy Ministry and has served in both conservative and liberal administrations. He served as senior secretary for economic affairs and chief of staff for policy during the Lee Myung-bak administration and as secretary for economic policies in the Roh Moo-hyun government.

Outgoing chief of staff Kim Dae-ki announces his own resignation and replacement in a press conference at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Kim's departure has been anticipated for weeks, taking into consideration Yoon's office has been undergoing a major shake-up and amid some speculation that he was partly to blame for Busan's failure to win the bid to host the World Expo 2030 last month after the city was defeated by Saudi Arabia's Riyadh by a larger-than-expected margin.

"I don't think the domestic and foreign conditions have ever been as difficult as they are now," Kim said, noting that this was his fifth time working in a presidential office. "I think I did my best, but it is true that I still fell short."

Kim described his successor as someone with "excellent political sense based on his extensive experience in government affairs," adding he believes Lee "will assist the president in running state affairs better than anyone else."

Lee will assume his new role as presidential chief of staff starting next Monday.

Recognizing Kim's contributions during the administration to overcoming multiple complex crises, including economic difficulties and establishing a broad framework for sound finance, Lee told reporters, "I will also serve the president well with new determination, and focus only on the people and realize what they desire."

Sung Tae-yoon, an economics professor at Yonsei University, will replace Lee as the new director of national policy.

He received his doctoral degree in economics from Harvard University after completing his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics at Yonsei University.

Kim described Sung as "a policy expert in both theory and practice" who has actively advised the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Financial Services Commission and other agencies while working in academia.

He said Sung is expected to excel in "logically coordinating government policies" as presidential policy chief.

First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin speaks during a press conference at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday after he was appointed by the president as new national security adviser. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In turn, First Vice Foreign Minister Chang will succeed Cho Tae-yong, a fellow veteran diplomat, as the new national security adviser.

Chang, known as a diplomatic strategist, previously served as Yoon's ambassador to Russia and was named first vice foreign minister in April.

After graduating from Seoul National University (SNU) with a diplomacy degree, Chang passed the foreign service exam in 1982. As a career diplomat, Chang served in various posts, including political councilor at the Korean Embassy in Moscow and ambassador to Cambodia. He is also well-versed in U.S. affairs and the North Korea nuclear issue, having served as director-general of the North American bureau.

Chang served as a presidential foreign affairs secretary in the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration and a foreign affairs aide to former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn in the Park Geun-hye administration.

He left the Foreign Ministry before retirement age during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.

He later served as a professor of global studies at the Korea Maritime & Ocean University.

Kim said Chang has "accumulated a wealth of experience in diplomacy and security" through his Foreign Ministry posts.

"Today, security is not limited to a country's ability to defend itself, but diplomatic relations with allies and allies are of utmost importance," Kim said. "Therefore, the new security adviser was judged to be the best person to assist the president in the diplomatic and security areas."

"I feel a great sense of responsibility for taking on this post at a time of transition, as the international order that has existed for 30 years since the end of the Cold War is facing a new phase in which new geopolitical fault lines are emerging," Chang said.

He pledged to continue to pursue policies to strengthen the South Korea-U. S. alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan, as well as to establish "new relationships" with neighboring countries to bolster Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and promote national development.

Chang also said he will seek ways to resolve Pyongyang's nuclear and missile issue, normalize inter-Korean relations, improve North Korean human rights and strengthen the combined defense posture through the three-axis system and extended deterrence capabilities.

He said he would also work toward diplomacy for economic security and assist the president in running state affairs by closely communicating and cooperating with relevant ministries.

From left, Lee Kwan-sup, Sung Tae-yoon, Chang Ho-jin and Kim Hong-kyun

Last week, Yoon named Cho as the new National Intelligence Service (NIS) director. Cho served as Korean ambassador to the United States from May 2022 to March this year, when he was appointed national security adviser.

Korean Ambassador to Germany Kim Hong-kyun, another SNU graduate who previously served as deputy foreign minister and South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, will succeed Chang as first vice foreign minister, the presidential office said.

Ambassador Kim was described as an expert on North Korean nuclear weapons and North American diplomacy.

Chief of staff Kim said, "As the first vice minister, we expect him to look after bilateral relations with major countries carefully."

The first vice foreign minister post has been vacant since career diplomat Oh Young-ju was nominated by Yoon earlier this month to be minister of SMEs and startups.

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