Top office names technocrat as chief trade negotiator
Published: 10 Jun. 2025, 18:58
Updated: 10 Jun. 2025, 19:38
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on June 10. [KIM HYUN-DONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/10/3d772e8f-c6e5-4b67-a783-8c1d4d957103.jpg)
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on June 10. [KIM HYUN-DONG]
In the latest round of appointments, the presidential office named its chief trade negotiator and filled other vice-ministerial positions in finance, industry and foreign affairs on Tuesday, ahead of President Lee Jae-myung's upcoming trip to Canada for the Group of 7, or G7, summit.
President Lee named former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yeo Han-koo as his top trade negotiator, announced presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung during a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office.
The president also tapped Lee Hyoung-il, commissioner of Statistics Korea, as first vice finance minister, and Lim Ki-keun, administrator of the Public Procurement Service, as second vice finance minister.
Park Yoon-joo, minister at Korea's Asean mission, was named as first vice foreign minister, and Kim Jina, a professor of diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, as second vice foreign minister. Moon Shin-hak, former spokesperson for the Industry Ministry, was selected as first vice minister of trade, industry and energy. He is known for leading the liberal Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phaseout policy.
![From left: Lee Hyoung-il, Lim Ki-keun, Park Yoon-joo, Kim Jina, Moon Shin-hak and Yeo Han-koo [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/10/a9b7d511-aa71-4827-bddb-80743c71b9e0.jpg)
From left: Lee Hyoung-il, Lim Ki-keun, Park Yoon-joo, Kim Jina, Moon Shin-hak and Yeo Han-koo [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
Yeo, who spent some 30 years in public service, is a veteran negotiator in trade deals who has served as Seoul's pointman for talks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and FTAs with Britain and Central America. He also participated in developing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
Yeo also has experience in negotiating with the United States, having served as a commercial attaché at the Korean Embassy in Washington, and was involved in talks to amend the Korea-U.S. FTA as well as Section 232 steel negotiations. As industry minister during the end of the Moon administration, Yeo also led negotiations on Seoul's export control measures against Moscow in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A graduate of Seoul National University, Yeo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard's Kennedy School.
Kang noted that Yeo has worked with the Donald Trump administration and, "amidst the intensifying trade conflicts around the world, including U.S.-China tensions and tariff negotiations, expectations are high that he will be a key personnel who will take the lead in economic diplomacy."
Kang said the vice-ministerial appointments were carried out "in order to focus human resources on economic recovery and overcoming recession."
Regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs picks, Kang said Park is "considered the right person to maintain pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests in tariff negotiations, which are the top priorities in U.S. President Donald Trump's second term."
Kim, a diplomacy and defense expert, in turn, has served as policy adviser to the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and has served on the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, providing advice to the UN secretary general.
"There are high expectations that she will be someone who can protect Korea's national interests in multilateral diplomacy, including the G7 summit next week," Kang said.
The presidential office also announced that it had decided to allocate 25.9 billion won ($18.9 million) in reserve funds for the cost of moving the presidential office, currently situated in the former Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan, central Seoul, back to the Blue House in northern Gwanghwamun.
Kang said that in order to carry out the "return" process, tours of the Blue House, which has been open to the public since May 2022, will be adjusted starting from July 16 and will be temporarily suspended from Aug. 1 until the move is complete.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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