Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki announces the new health and welfare minister nominee during a press conference at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Heads roll at presidential office as Yoon expedites reshuffle

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol named First Deputy Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong as the new health and welfare minister, who will be the third nominee tapped for the position. The post has been vacant for more than 100 days as Yoon's previous two picks withdrew their nominations.

"Yoon has named First Deputy Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong as the new health and welfare minister," presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki said in a press conference, Wednesday. "He is an economic bureaucrat who is well-versed in the budget and finance fields. He has been participating in pension service and healthcare reforms so far."

Cho is a Seoul National University graduate who earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Colorado. As the first deputy health minister, Cho has been serving as an acting minister after former Minister Kwon Deok-cheol left office on May 24.

Cho is the third person that Yoon has tapped for the position. On April 10, Yoon, who was then president-elect, picked former Kyungpook National University Hospital chief Chung Ho-young, but he stepped down after criticism that he had used his influence to help his daughter and son transfer to the university's medical school while he was its chief.

Following Chung, Yoon named former lawmaker Kim Seung-hee to the position on May 26, but Kim also dropped out over allegations that she used political funds for private purposes.

Given these two botched attempts, Yoon appears to have chosen a person who is relatively safe from controversy and is familiar with the job.

"As you know, the confirmation hearings (on minister nominees) have been very strict, and a lot of people have refused to take the job," a senior presidential official said. "Cho has vast experience in handling the pension service and budget, and the office has seen that he has been managing the ministry smoothly for more than 100 days."

Reforms at presidential office

Former lawmaker Jun Hee-kyung / Korea Times file

President Yoon also named first and second secretaries for political affairs, positions that had been vacant as a result of the sweeping replacement of secretaries and their deputies who were known to have close relations with ruling bloc lawmakers.

Yoon appointed former lawmaker Jun Hee-kyung as the first secretary for political affairs handling issues related to the National Assembly. For the post of second secretary for political affairs, who will be in charge of strategy and planning, he named Jang Kyung-sang, a former deputy secretary for ex-President Park Geun-hye.

Jun served as a lawmaker for the United Future Party, a predecessor of the ruling People Power Party, and has a background of leading a number of conservative civic groups. She earned her reputation as a conservative fighter against the liberal ruling bloc during the previous Moon Jae-in administration, denouncing Moon's presidential office as being "controlled by North Korea sympathizers."

Jang, now director of private think tank Management Institute for the State, served as the strategy and planning team head for Park Geun-hye's presidential campaign in 2012, and then became the deputy secretary for planning in Park's administration. He was also a policy aide for former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan.

Their appointments came after their predecessors, first secretary Hong Ji-man and second secretary Kyung Yun-ho, left the presidential office on Aug. 29. The presidential office did not specify the reasons, but their departures were interpreted as part of attempts to refurbish the presidential office's communications with the Assembly.

Their resignations were a trigger for the sweeping replacement of secretaries and their deputies and assistants in the presidential office. So far, nearly 30 out of the 420 officials at the presidential office either stepped down voluntarily or were ordered to leave starting from the end of last month, and those numbers are increasing every day.

Along with the political affairs secretaries, ranking officials who left the office include secretary for civil society and communication Lim Heon-jo and secretary for civil affairs Huh Seong-woo. Senior secretary for public relations Choi Young-beom was also replaced.

"Every day is like walking on thin ice," an official at the office said. "Someone you worked with yesterday is gone today."

The personnel replacements are mostly taking place among those who are working on political, civil and social policy and public relations. Many of those staff are known to have close connections to ruling party lawmakers, including those who are key associates of Yoon himself.

In comparison, aides in the economic and human resources sections are not leaving the office. Since those aides are mostly from the prosecution or are bureaucrats, pundits have said that Yoon, a former prosecutor general with no experience being a lawmaker, is inclined to trust people he already knows.

The move appears to be in line with Yoon's promise last month to reshuffle the presidential office, in order to address the negative public opinions on his choices of ministers and presidential secretaries and fix problems to serve the people better and regain public trust in his presidency.

Yoon's job approval rating reached an all-time low in mid-August and has hovering between 25 percent and 35 percent since then. Pundits said Yoon seems to be trying to break this stalemate by replacing aides and secretaries before this week's Chuseok holiday, which will be an important turning point for public sentiment on the administration.

Meanwhile, the presidential office said presidential spokesperson Kang In-sun will be in charge of public relations for overseas media. While looking for a new spokesperson, the office will have two deputy spokespeople.