President Lee urges Yoon's holdover ministers to 'put the people first' during inaugural Cabinet meeting

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President Lee urges Yoon's holdover ministers to 'put the people first' during inaugural Cabinet meeting

Published: 05 Jun. 2025, 18:37 Updated: 05 Jun. 2025, 19:27

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Newly elected President Lee Jae-myung, far right, speaks during his first Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on June 5. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-youl, who was appointed by ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, is seated to the left of Lee. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The shadow of former President Yoon Suk Yeol loomed large over President Lee Jae-myung’s first Cabinet meeting on Thursday, where the newly elected leader urged ministers appointed by his predecessor to focus on serving the public before their replacement.

Speaking at the presidential office in Seoul’s Yongsan District — a location also chosen by Yoon to serve as the seat of government in 2022 — Lee urged members of the holdover Cabinet to “put the people first and do [their] best at the given moment,” despite the temporary nature of their uneasy cohabitation.

“Of course, some of you might feel this is quite awkward, but at the end of the day, we all work for the people,” he noted.

Lee assumed office with no transition period after winning a snap presidential election on Tuesday, prompted by Yoon’s impeachment and removal over his short-lived imposition of martial law last December.

As a result, he began his five-year term with a Cabinet formed under the previous administration.

“We cannot shirk the responsibilities entrusted to us by the people, and I trust you to do your best,” Lee said.

Acknowledging the unusual circumstances of his inauguration, Lee added, “It will take some time before I get the administration in order. While I do that, people are going through a difficult time, and I’d like to make that time as short as possible.”

Newly elected President Lee Jae-myung speaks at his first Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on June 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

To that end, he named Lee Han-joo, director of the Democratic Party’s (DP) Institute for Democracy, as the chief of the national planning committee that effectively functions as a transition team and organizes state affairs.

President Lee also wasted little time reversing actions by the previous administration that he and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) had strongly opposed.

The new presidential spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, announced on Thursday that Lee had withdrawn two Constitutional Court nominations made by former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during his brief tenure as acting president following Yoon’s removal in early April.

Han’s attempt to name Government Legislation Minister Lee Wan-kyu and Seoul High Court Judge Ham Sang-hun to vacancies on the court reserved for presidential appointees prompted criticism from the DP, which argued that an acting president should not exercise such authority.

Kang also noted that the president had ordered the Land Ministry to prepare a report regarding the Oceans Ministry’s relocation to Busan, following up on a pledge he made during his campaign.

A presidential official told reporters that the timing of Lee’s first phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be confirmed soon, once the “time difference, various scheduling issues and many unique circumstances” are resolved.

In Washington, the bipartisan Congressional Korea Caucus extended its congratulations to Lee, calling South Korea “a key and indispensable ally.”

In a joint statement, Representatives Ami Bera, Marilyn Strickland, Joe Wilson and Mike Kelly said they looked forward to working with Lee “through the many challenges facing the Korean Peninsula and beyond.”

“As co-chairs of the Korea Caucus, we remain steadfastly committed to defending, strengthening and enlarging the ironclad U.S.-Korea alliance,” the statement said.

Following the conclusion of the Cabinet meeting at 1:40 p.m., Lee attended his first National Security Council gathering at the presidential bunker at 2:00 p.m., where he was joined by heads of government agencies in charge of public safety, as well as several local government leaders.

President Lee Jae-myung, right, shakes hands with Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok at the start of his first National Security Council meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on June 5. [YONHAP]

Here, too, the new president criticized his predecessor’s track record, saying it was “regrettable” that “natural and man-made disasters occur all too frequently in daily life.”

Lee urged those present to “pay more attention and undertake precautionary measures” to prevent such incidents.

Yet even as Lee begins his presidency, the legal troubles that overshadowed his candidacy continued to hover.

Prior to the election, he was facing several criminal trials. It remains unclear whether those proceedings will continue now that he has taken office.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld a prison sentence of seven years and eight months for Lee Hwa-young, a former Gyeonggi vice governor, on charges of arranging an illegal transfer of $8 million to North Korea during President Lee’s 2018-2021 gubernatorial term.

The court said the funds were meant to facilitate a visit to Pyongyang by Lee — an allegation he has denied.

The DP has argued that the trials against Lee should be suspended under Article 84 of the Constitution, which grants sitting presidents immunity from criminal prosecution.

“Since he has assumed office as president, his criminal cases ought to be suspended under the Constitution. This is not a matter of debate,” said Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, the party’s chief spokesperson.

Legal scholars remain divided. While the Constitution shields a sitting president from prosecution, it does not clearly address how to proceed with trials that began before a president took office.

However, the majority of the public believes Lee should not be immune, according to a joint exit poll conducted by major broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS during Tuesday’s election.

In the survey, 64 percent of respondents said the trials should continue, while 26 percent said they should be delayed until after Lee’s term.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]