President Moon Jae-in's appointment of ministers and Cheong Wa Dae officials show the new government puts reviving the economy and resolving diplomatic stalemates on top of its to-do list.
He tapped Kim Dong-yeon as deputy prime minister and finance minister to cope with low growth and job creation. At the same time, he appointed Jang Ha-sung, who has called for chaebol reform, as presidential chief of staff for policy, indicating he also focuses on addressing economic polarization.
For diplomacy, Moon nominated Kang Kyung-wha as foreign minister and Chung Eui-yong as head of the National Security Office, showing it is urgent to address North Korea's nuclear issue.
Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister nominee Kim Dong-yeon is an economist with insight into macroeconomic policies as well as expertise in budgeting. He has received public attention as he comes from a financially troubled background.
President Moon Jae-in named Ajou University President Kim, 61, as the deputy prime minister for the economy and head of the finance ministry.
He lost his father at age 11 and started to work at Seoul Bank after graduating from high school to be the breadwinner for his family. At night he attended Gukje College, currently Seokyeong University, and managed to pass the exam to become a civil servant at age 25.
Starting his public career at the now-defunct Economy Planning Board, he earned his reputation for budgeting and financial planning. In 2006, he led the team drafting the "Vision 2030" report, the Korean government's first economic master plan.
He served as a presidential aide during the Lee Myung-bak administration before becoming the vice minister of strategy and finance in 2012 and minister of the office for government policy coordination in 2013.
Kim began his academic career at Ajou University in 2015.
President Moon said, "Coming from an underprivileged background, Kim is an economist who can sympathize with the difficulties of the people as well as having the capacity to reinvigorate the Korean economy."
Kim earned a master's degree at Seoul National University and was award his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
Chief of staff for policy
Jang Ha-sung, the presidential chief of staff for policy, was a professor of business administration at Korea University.
He has long studied economic inequality and has been engaged in activities in reforming the conglomerates' governance structures.
Born in Gwangju in 1953, Jang graduated from Kyunggi High School, majored in business administration at Korea University and was awarded his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the dean of the Korea University Business School and a chairman of the Korea Finance Association.
Jang was the head of the economic democracy committee for the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the nation's largest civic group. Since the late 1990s, he has focused on Samsung Group's unfair deals among affiliates, being dubbed the "Samsung sniper."
In 2006, he led the initiative of the Korea Corporate Governance Fund, better known as the "Jang Ha-sung fund," through which he sought to boost investments in undervalued Korean companies and raise their value by improving their governance structures.
Although former liberal administrations had attempted to appoint him to government posts, he refused. This is the first time for Jang to take a public post.
Accepting the chief of staff for policy position, which was newly created by President Moon Jae-in, Jang is expected to lead the new president's drive for chaebol reform, along with progressive professor Kim Sang-jo, who was named chairman of the Fair Trade Commission.
During the election campaign, he was an economic adviser to Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party.
Vice chair of National Economic Advisory Council
Sogang University Professor Kim Kwang-doo, who was nominated as vice chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) on Sunday, is a conservative who designed key economic policies for former President Park Geun-hye.
Kim, 71, is an advocate of free markets and designed Park's policies for tax cuts, deregulation and stronger law enforcement. In 2010, he established the Institute for the Future of State to help Park draft economic plans.
After Park's inauguration, however, Kim distanced himself from her and did not take any government posts. The institute also took critical stances on the Park administration's economic policies as well as held joint discussions with progressive economic institutions.
Earlier this year, Kim joined Moon Jae-in's camp as an adviser and drafted the so-called "J-nomics," aimed at job creation driven by expansionary fiscal policy. Kim reportedly made efforts to prevent Moon from adopting overly leftist stances.
Moon said: "Though Kim and I have different ideas on the economy, conservatives and liberalists should unite for the sake of the economy."
Kim graduated from Sogang University and earned his doctoral degree at the University of Hawaii.
Foreign affairs minister
Kang Kyung-wha, 62, a foreign minister nominee, is known to be the first Korean female to sit in one of the top United Nations posts.
If appointed officially following an Assembly confirmation hearing, Kang will also be the first female to lead the foreign ministry.
Graduating from the department of political science and international studies at Yonsei University, Kang started her career as an announcer-turned-producer for local broadcaster KBS' English service channel.
After receiving a Ph.D. in intercultural communication from the University of Massachusetts, she served as the National Assembly speaker's secretary official for international affairs, associate professor at the English department of Sejong University, and researcher at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS).
In 1998, she joined the foreign ministry as an expert of international affairs, an unusual route different from most ministry officials who must pass the state-run exam.
Her employment was reportedly attributed to her sophisticated performance in simultaneous interpretation for a 1997 phone call between then newly elected President Kim Dae-jung and U.S. President Bill Clinton.
She served as an aide to then Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young, and under the Roh Moo-hyun government she became the second female director of the ministry in charge of international organization affairs.
Kang was appointed as a deputy high commissioner at the U.N. Human Rights Office in 2006, an equivalent in status to the U.N. deputy secretary-general, becoming a pioneering Korean female figure at the international body.
She worked as the chief for then-Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres' transition team in October 2016, and was tapped as Guterres' senior adviser on policy in December.
She is the only figure who was consecutively given positions by three secretary-generals from Kofi Annan to Ban Ki-moon to Antonio Guterres, according to the U.N. official.
Chief of the National Security Office
Chung Eui-yong, the newly appointed director of the National Security Office, will coordinate the Moon Jae-in administration's foreign and security policies.
Chung, who heads the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), is known as an expert in multilateral diplomacy.
Chung, 71, led a foreign policy team of Moon's campaign during the election campaign, assisting Moon in setting up his diplomatic direction. He recently met senior director for East Asia of the U.S. National Security Council Matt Pottinger who made an official visit to South Korea and discussed the schedule for the Korea-U.S. summit with him.
Born in 1946, he majored in diplomacy at Seoul National University. Chung entered the foreign ministry in 1971 where he started his diplomatic career.
He has worked as the director of the ministry's commerce bureau, diplomatic minister at the South Korean embassy in the U.S., ambassador to Israel, and deputy head of the trade representative in the foreign ministry.
Chung also served as an ambassador to Geneva and the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
He was elected as a proportional representative of the then-ruling Uri Party, the predecessor of the current ruling Democratic Party of Korea, in the 17th National Assembly and worked as a member of the parliamentary committee that dealt with issues of the Korea-U.S. free trade deal.
Moon said security and diplomacy are two sides of the same coin, saying the diplomacy expert will be suitable to lead the security team.
Special advisers for unification, foreign affairs, national security
Hong Seok-hyun, who was named special adviser for unification, foreign affairs and national security, is a media mogul who chaired JoongAng Media Network.
He studied electronic engineering at Seoul National University and was awarded a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University.
He served as Korean ambassador to the United States in 2005 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He was once mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.N. secretary-general, along with Ban Ki-moon, the position that the latter assumed in 2007.
Hong quit JoongAng Media Network in March and sought to run in the May 9 presidential election, but later decided not to run.
As Moon's special envoy, Hong visited the United States last week. Cheong Wa Dae said Moon highly appreciated Hong's qualified diplomatic capacity and his vast global network.
Moon Chung-in, another special adviser, was a political thinker during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.
The professor emeritus of Yonsei University set the framework of Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy.
He participated in inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 and served as a presidential adviser on East Asia affairs and an international security ambassador of the foreign ministry during the Roh administration.
Majoring in philosophy at Yonsei University, Moon received his master's degree and was awarded his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Maryland. The professor, who taught at the University of Kentucky and Duke University, has a wide network in academic and political fields, especially in the U.S.
He tapped Kim Dong-yeon as deputy prime minister and finance minister to cope with low growth and job creation. At the same time, he appointed Jang Ha-sung, who has called for chaebol reform, as presidential chief of staff for policy, indicating he also focuses on addressing economic polarization.
For diplomacy, Moon nominated Kang Kyung-wha as foreign minister and Chung Eui-yong as head of the National Security Office, showing it is urgent to address North Korea's nuclear issue.
Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister nominee Kim Dong-yeon is an economist with insight into macroeconomic policies as well as expertise in budgeting. He has received public attention as he comes from a financially troubled background.
President Moon Jae-in named Ajou University President Kim, 61, as the deputy prime minister for the economy and head of the finance ministry.
He lost his father at age 11 and started to work at Seoul Bank after graduating from high school to be the breadwinner for his family. At night he attended Gukje College, currently Seokyeong University, and managed to pass the exam to become a civil servant at age 25.
Starting his public career at the now-defunct Economy Planning Board, he earned his reputation for budgeting and financial planning. In 2006, he led the team drafting the "Vision 2030" report, the Korean government's first economic master plan.
He served as a presidential aide during the Lee Myung-bak administration before becoming the vice minister of strategy and finance in 2012 and minister of the office for government policy coordination in 2013.
Kim began his academic career at Ajou University in 2015.
President Moon said, "Coming from an underprivileged background, Kim is an economist who can sympathize with the difficulties of the people as well as having the capacity to reinvigorate the Korean economy."
Kim earned a master's degree at Seoul National University and was award his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
Chief of staff for policy
Jang Ha-sung, the presidential chief of staff for policy, was a professor of business administration at Korea University.
He has long studied economic inequality and has been engaged in activities in reforming the conglomerates' governance structures.
Born in Gwangju in 1953, Jang graduated from Kyunggi High School, majored in business administration at Korea University and was awarded his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the dean of the Korea University Business School and a chairman of the Korea Finance Association.
Jang was the head of the economic democracy committee for the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the nation's largest civic group. Since the late 1990s, he has focused on Samsung Group's unfair deals among affiliates, being dubbed the "Samsung sniper."
In 2006, he led the initiative of the Korea Corporate Governance Fund, better known as the "Jang Ha-sung fund," through which he sought to boost investments in undervalued Korean companies and raise their value by improving their governance structures.
Although former liberal administrations had attempted to appoint him to government posts, he refused. This is the first time for Jang to take a public post.
Accepting the chief of staff for policy position, which was newly created by President Moon Jae-in, Jang is expected to lead the new president's drive for chaebol reform, along with progressive professor Kim Sang-jo, who was named chairman of the Fair Trade Commission.
During the election campaign, he was an economic adviser to Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party.
Vice chair of National Economic Advisory Council
Sogang University Professor Kim Kwang-doo, who was nominated as vice chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) on Sunday, is a conservative who designed key economic policies for former President Park Geun-hye.
Kim, 71, is an advocate of free markets and designed Park's policies for tax cuts, deregulation and stronger law enforcement. In 2010, he established the Institute for the Future of State to help Park draft economic plans.
After Park's inauguration, however, Kim distanced himself from her and did not take any government posts. The institute also took critical stances on the Park administration's economic policies as well as held joint discussions with progressive economic institutions.
Earlier this year, Kim joined Moon Jae-in's camp as an adviser and drafted the so-called "J-nomics," aimed at job creation driven by expansionary fiscal policy. Kim reportedly made efforts to prevent Moon from adopting overly leftist stances.
Moon said: "Though Kim and I have different ideas on the economy, conservatives and liberalists should unite for the sake of the economy."
Kim graduated from Sogang University and earned his doctoral degree at the University of Hawaii.
Foreign affairs minister
Kang Kyung-wha, 62, a foreign minister nominee, is known to be the first Korean female to sit in one of the top United Nations posts.
If appointed officially following an Assembly confirmation hearing, Kang will also be the first female to lead the foreign ministry.
Graduating from the department of political science and international studies at Yonsei University, Kang started her career as an announcer-turned-producer for local broadcaster KBS' English service channel.
After receiving a Ph.D. in intercultural communication from the University of Massachusetts, she served as the National Assembly speaker's secretary official for international affairs, associate professor at the English department of Sejong University, and researcher at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS).
In 1998, she joined the foreign ministry as an expert of international affairs, an unusual route different from most ministry officials who must pass the state-run exam.
Her employment was reportedly attributed to her sophisticated performance in simultaneous interpretation for a 1997 phone call between then newly elected President Kim Dae-jung and U.S. President Bill Clinton.
She served as an aide to then Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young, and under the Roh Moo-hyun government she became the second female director of the ministry in charge of international organization affairs.
Kang was appointed as a deputy high commissioner at the U.N. Human Rights Office in 2006, an equivalent in status to the U.N. deputy secretary-general, becoming a pioneering Korean female figure at the international body.
She worked as the chief for then-Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres' transition team in October 2016, and was tapped as Guterres' senior adviser on policy in December.
She is the only figure who was consecutively given positions by three secretary-generals from Kofi Annan to Ban Ki-moon to Antonio Guterres, according to the U.N. official.
Chief of the National Security Office
Chung Eui-yong, the newly appointed director of the National Security Office, will coordinate the Moon Jae-in administration's foreign and security policies.
Chung, who heads the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), is known as an expert in multilateral diplomacy.
Chung, 71, led a foreign policy team of Moon's campaign during the election campaign, assisting Moon in setting up his diplomatic direction. He recently met senior director for East Asia of the U.S. National Security Council Matt Pottinger who made an official visit to South Korea and discussed the schedule for the Korea-U.S. summit with him.
Born in 1946, he majored in diplomacy at Seoul National University. Chung entered the foreign ministry in 1971 where he started his diplomatic career.
He has worked as the director of the ministry's commerce bureau, diplomatic minister at the South Korean embassy in the U.S., ambassador to Israel, and deputy head of the trade representative in the foreign ministry.
Chung also served as an ambassador to Geneva and the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
He was elected as a proportional representative of the then-ruling Uri Party, the predecessor of the current ruling Democratic Party of Korea, in the 17th National Assembly and worked as a member of the parliamentary committee that dealt with issues of the Korea-U.S. free trade deal.
Moon said security and diplomacy are two sides of the same coin, saying the diplomacy expert will be suitable to lead the security team.
Special advisers for unification, foreign affairs, national security
Hong Seok-hyun, who was named special adviser for unification, foreign affairs and national security, is a media mogul who chaired JoongAng Media Network.
He studied electronic engineering at Seoul National University and was awarded a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University.
He served as Korean ambassador to the United States in 2005 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He was once mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.N. secretary-general, along with Ban Ki-moon, the position that the latter assumed in 2007.
Hong quit JoongAng Media Network in March and sought to run in the May 9 presidential election, but later decided not to run.
As Moon's special envoy, Hong visited the United States last week. Cheong Wa Dae said Moon highly appreciated Hong's qualified diplomatic capacity and his vast global network.
Moon Chung-in, another special adviser, was a political thinker during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.
The professor emeritus of Yonsei University set the framework of Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy.
He participated in inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 and served as a presidential adviser on East Asia affairs and an international security ambassador of the foreign ministry during the Roh administration.
Majoring in philosophy at Yonsei University, Moon received his master's degree and was awarded his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Maryland. The professor, who taught at the University of Kentucky and Duke University, has a wide network in academic and political fields, especially in the U.S.
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