President Lee Jae Myung appointed six vice ministers and six vice ministerial-level officials, including those for education and science, in the latest appointments of senior officials, the presidential office said Sunday.
Choi Eun-ok, former director general of the higher education policy bureau at the Education Ministry, was promoted to vice education minister. Choi has spent most of her career at the Education Ministry since passing the administrative exam in 1990. As chief of the office of the higher education policy bureau in 2020, Choi pursued several university entrance policies aligned with Korea's aging society.
For the position of first vice minister of science, Lee named Koo Hyuk-chae, head of the office of planning and coordination at the Ministry of Science and ICT. Koo has held key positions within the Science Ministry, including as spokesperson, after passing an advanced national civil servant exam for technological positions in 1994.
Roh Yong-seok, head of the office of small and medium-sized enterprises policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has been appointed vice minister. Roh is an expert in trade and business management who spent the past decade at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. He also served as first secretary at the Korean Embassy in France from 2009 to 2012.
Kang Hee-up, chief of the Metropolitan Transport Commission, was named the second vice minister of land and transport. He passed the advanced national civil servant exam for technological positions in 1994 and is considered an expert in transportation policies.
Kang Yun-jin, who was appointed as vice minister of patriots and veterans affairs, is currently director general for patriots and veterans associations cooperation at the ministry. She is the first female vice minister for the Veterans Affairs Ministry.
Appointments for six vice ministerial-level officials were also announced.
Hong So-young became the country’s first female commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration. She is the current head of the administration’s central regional office.
Judge-turned-attorney Cho Won-cheol was named minister of government legislation. Lee Myeong-ku, current deputy commissioner of Korea Customs Service, was promoted to commissioner. Huh Min, a professor at Chonnam University’s department of earth and environmental sciences was appointed administrator of the Korea Heritage Service.
Lim Seung-kwan, director of a task force for infectious diseases at the National Medical Center, was appointed commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Kang Joo-youb, deputy commissioner at the National Agency for Administrative City Construction, was promoted to commissioner.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
