Slew of Cabinet nominations consolidate DP authority, tap outside experts

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Slew of Cabinet nominations consolidate DP authority, tap outside experts

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 19:27

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

In his first major Cabinet announcement on June 23, President Lee Jae Myung named 11 ministerial nominations. Clockwise from top left: Bae Kyung-hoon, science and ICT minister nominee; Cho Hyun, foreign affairs minister nominee; Chung Dong-young, unification minister nominee; Ahn Gyu-back, defense minister nominee; Kwon Oh-eul, veterans affairs minister nominee; Song Mi-ryung, current agriculture minister; Yoon Chang-yul, director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination nominee; Han Seong-sook, minister of SMEs and Startups nominee; Chun Jae-soo, oceans and fisheries minister nominee; Kang Sun-woo, gender equality and family minister nominee; Kim Young-hoon, labor minister nominee; and Kim Sung-whan, environment minister nominee. [YONHAP]

In his first major Cabinet announcement Monday, President Lee Jae Myung named 11 ministerial nominees that blend party loyalists with unconventional outsiders — including five sitting lawmakers from the Democratic Party (DP) and several high-profile figures from outside the ruling bloc, signaling both political consolidation and pragmatic outreach.

In a dramatic departure from six decades of military tradition, Lee nominated five-term lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back of the liberal DP as Korea’s next defense minister — the first civilian nominee for the post since 1961, when Korea's former President Park Chung Hee seized power through a military coup.

For the minister of foreign affairs, former Korean ambassador to the United Nations Cho Hyun, who served both as the first and second vice minister under the Moon Jae-in government, was named. Cho is regarded as well-versed in both diplomacy and trade, having headed the ministry’s Bureau of International Economic Affairs.

Other nominees include LG AI Research Institute Director Bae Kyung-hoon, tapped to lead the Ministry of Science and ICT.

“Bae is a scholar and entrepreneur in artificial intelligence,” Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, said during a press briefing held at the top office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Monday. “He’s a specialist we brought in with much effort to help Korea emerge as a top-three global AI powerhouse.” Bae is expected to work alongside Ha Jung-woo, the presidential office’s AI Future Planning Senior Secretary. Ha was formerly working as the head of the Future AI Center at Naver.

Four more DP lawmakers on top of Ahn made Lee's first round of Cabinet nominations: Chung Dong-young for minister of unification; Kim Sung-whan for minister of environment; Kang Sun-woo for minister of gender equality and family; and Chun Jae-soo for minister of oceans and fisheries.

Ahn’s nomination is particularly notable. All 39 defense ministers since the 1961 coup have been military generals. The move is seen as a bold push by President Lee for stronger civilian control over the military.

President Lee Jae Myung walks to attend a meeting with his aides at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on June 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“Ahn spent most of his five parliamentary terms on the National Defense Committee, serving as both a ranking member and chair,” the chief of staff. “He has a deep understanding of the military and is expected to lead reforms in the aftermath of the Dec. 3 martial law mobilization.”

The nominations also included several picks that cross traditional ideological lines. Kwon Oh-eul, a former three-term lawmaker who was once affiliated with the conservative Grand National Party, the predecessor of the modern People Power Party, was named minister of veterans affairs. Kim Young-hoon, the former head of the Korean Railway Workers’ Union as well as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was tapped for the minister of labor.

Song Mi-ryung, who was appointed by former President Yoon Seok Yeol, will remain in her post as the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.

Kang said the appointments reflect the Lee administration’s “pragmatic philosophy” of prioritizing performance and ability over ideological affiliation.

“This lineup was shaped by the belief that competence matters more than political background,” he said.

For Minister of SMEs and Startups, Lee nominated Han Seong-sook, the former CEO of Naver. Yoon Chang-yul, head of LG’s Global Strategy and Development Center, was named as the director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, a minister-level position. Yoon previously served in the Moon Jae-in administration as senior secretary for social affairs.

According to the presidential office, 10 of the 11 nominees — all except science minister candidate Bae — were drawn from the "Real Worker Search Project" initiative, a new public nomination system introduced under the Lee administration.

A senior official from the presidential office said that “acting Prime Minister Lee Ju-ho is expected to sign the nominations, and additional appointments — including for key economy-related ministries — will be announced once finalized.”

President Lee said Monday that he hopes the confirmation process of his nominations "proceeds swiftly so that the Cabinet can respond quickly to the urgent challenges we face at the moment, including the Middle East conflict, which is growing increasingly tense and is having a serious impact on our economy.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]