South Korea’s President Lee names finance minister, makes other picks
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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has announced his picks for several positions across the goverenment.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - South Korea needs to take measures to support its economy in the short term as it continues tariff talks with the US, its likely new finance minister Koo Yun-cheol said on June 29 after being nominated for the role by President Lee Jae Myung.
Mr Koo, a former vice-finance minister, still needs to go through Parliament hearings before being confirmed as finance minister. Other ministerial appointments were also announced by the president’s office on June 29.
“We need to take pre-emptive measures and prepare for situations such as the current tariff negotiations with the United States,” Mr Koo told a press conference.
“Through this process, we plan to actively and proactively respond to the difficulties that the South Korean economy faces in the short term,” he said.
Trade envoy Yeo Han-koo returned home on June 29 after holding the first high-level tariff talks took office on June 4
South Korea has sought exemptions from US President Donald Trump’s high tariffs on imports of automobiles and steel products, as well as a 25 per cent “reciprocal” levy on the US ally that is currently paused for negotiations
Mr Yeo said his trip helped build mutual trust to expedite the negotiations and make friends in Washington. Asked if the July 8 deadline for negotiations over tariffs was still valid, Mr Yeo said every possibility was left open.
“In fact, the situation in the United States is very fluid. So, for now, I can say that all possibilities are open,” he told reporters.
The US has demanded that South Korea improve non-tariff barriers particularly in the agricultural and digital services sectors, according to South Korean officials.
Ministerial appointments
Mr Koo is widely known as a policy expert, serving different positions across the government and authoring books on South Korea’s innovation and growth, most recently on artificial intelligence, Mr Lee’s chief of staff, Mr Kang Hoon-sik, told a briefing.
Among other ministerial positions, Mr Lee named Dr Kim Jung-kwan, president of power plant builder Doosan Enerbility and a veteran bureaucrat in economics, energy and public policy, to be industry minister.
Dr Kim fits the role to realise President Lee’s “energy mix philosophy”, Mr Kang said, referring the new leader’s aim to balance nuclear power and renewable energy.
The former head of South Korea’s disease control agency, Dr Jeong Eun-kyeong, was nominated for health minister. She was highly praised for her response to the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming one of the Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020.
Cabinet nominations in South Korea must be vetted by hearings in Parliament. But presidents may appoint their nominees even without parliament approval, and Mr Lee’s Democratic Party has a majority in Parliament. REUTERS
