President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated People Power Party lawmaker Shin Won-sik as a candidate for Minister of National Defense on the 13th. Yoo In-chon, Special Advisor to the President for Culture and Sports, was selected as the candidate for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Kim Haeng, former member of the People Power Party’s Emergency Response Committee, was selected as the candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family. Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-gi announced the appointment of political officials at the Yongsan Government Complex this afternoon. Although the replacement of the Minister of Unification last June is seen as the first cabinet reshuffle, this is the first time since President Yoon took office that multiple ministers have been replaced at once.
First, regarding Candidate Shin, Director Kim introduced, “I judged him to be the best person to complete ‘Defense Innovation 4.0’ in the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear weapons and missiles.” Candidate Shin (37th class of the Korea Military Academy), a former three-star general, served as commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, policy planning officer at the Ministry of National Defense, commander of the Army Capital Defense Command, director of the Operations Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and vice chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He emphasized that Candidate Yoo “not only has understanding and insight into the culture and arts scene, but also has policy capabilities through his past ministerial duties.” A former actor, he served as the first Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Lee Myung-bak ( MB ) administration. After retiring as minister in 2011, he returned to the stage, and was appointed as President Yoon’s special cultural advisor last July.
Candidate Kim is a former public opinion reporter for the JoongAng Ilbo and served as a spokesperson for the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration. He also served as the director of the Korea Gender Equality Education Promotion Agency, the largest organization under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Chief Secretary Kim said, “He is the right person to smoothly promote the work of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is in transition.”
Three candidates were also present at the nomination announcement. Candidate Shin said, “It may be insufficient, but I will do my best if I become the Minister of National Defense so that the people can live comfortably.” He added, “I will do my best to create a soldier worthy of a soldier and an army worthy of an army.” Candidate Yoo said, “I will ensure that culture can play a role in improving the quality of life of the people.” Candidate Kim said, “I will actively communicate with the public while the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family continues to exist.”
Observations were made that the replacement of Minister메이저사이트 of National Defense Lee Jong-seop and Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook, who were targeted by the opposition party due to the death of Marine Corporal Chae Soo-geun in the line of duty and the World Scout Jamboree disruption, was a case of ‘responsibility’, but the President’s Office denied this. Regarding the replacement of Minister Lee, a high-ranking official in the Presidential Office said, “I served as Minister for about 1 year and 4 months, and I have usually replaced Minister Lee in the past at this level,” and expressed his position that it had nothing to do with the opposition party’s impeachment offensive. Regarding whether to accept the resignation submitted by Minister Lee, he explained, “Because there cannot be a security vacuum even for a single day, we are not planning to accept it until the hearing for candidate Shin is over.” Regarding the selection of Candidate Yoo, who the opposition party is focusing on raising the issue of the MB government’s personnel management, calling him “
the epitome of a shameless ‘rehash candidate'” (Chief Spokesperson of the Democratic Party, Kwon Chil-seung), a high-ranking official in the President’s Office said, “While appointing talented people, he has once served in the past government.” Containing is not a big standard. “We focused on whether we could fulfill our historical mission with professionalism and responsibility,” he explained. Some see this appointment as a forward deployment of a ‘projection-type’ minister. President Yoon told ministers at a cabinet meeting on the 29th of last month, “Do not hesitate and fight.” In fact, Candidate Shin took the lead on related issues, such as preemptively calling for the relocation of the bust of General Hong Beom-do at the Military Academy. Candidate Yoo is also MB.
Since the time of the government, the image of a strong and driven force has been strong. Candidate Kim has also been actively campaigning against the opposition through broadcasts and other sources until recently. A key ruling party official said in a phone call with the JoongAng Ilbo, “In order to further speed up the performance of state affairs, we have strengthened the cabinet capacity with a focus on expertise,” and added, “There is also an aspect of reorganizing the cabinet line as a way to renew it ahead of the government audit next month.” said.