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Yoon appoints seasoned bureaucrats as new vice science ministers

Published: 25 Feb. 2024, 17:00

SARAH KIM
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From left: Lee Chang-yune, Kang Do-hyun, Ryu Kwang-jun

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday appointed new first and second vice science ministers, who will assume their new roles on Monday.

Lee Chang-yune, secretary-general of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology, was named as the first vice science minister in charge of science and technology policies, said the presidential office, succeeding Cho Seong-kyung.

Lee, a traditional bureaucrat who has held key administrative positions in the science and technology fields, entered public service in 1995.

He received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Yonsei University and a master's in patent law from Yonsei University Graduate School of Law.

Kang Do-hyun, director of ICT policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, was named the second vice science minister in charge of the country's ICT policies, replacing Park Yun-kyu.

Ryu Kwang-jun, head of the office of science, technology and innovation coordination at the ministry, was also tapped as vice minister for science, technology and innovation.

They will begin their new posts on Monday.

The presidential office said the new vice ministers, as seasoned bureaucrats in the field, are expected to lead the Yoon administration's science and ICT policies successfully.

The latest reshuffling could be seen as a move for the Yoon administration to strengthen communication in the science field amid recent controversy over cuts in science and technology and research and development budgets.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]