S. Korean President expected to shake up Cabinet, presidential office starting next week
President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to carry out a major reshuffle of the Cabinet and presidential secretaries starting next week, as he prepares to push key agenda items in his third year in office, officials said Tuesday, Yonhap reports.
The shakeup is expected to affect five of the six senior presidential secretaries and around half of the 19 Cabinet ministers, including those for finance, justice and land, as many of them depart to run in next April's parliamentary elections.
"The upcoming Cabinet reshuffle and reorganization are meant for the implementation of key administrative tasks and the placement of capable people who can execute policies felt by the people, in our third year in office," a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.
The reshuffle of the presidential office will likely take place sometime next week, after parliamentary deliberations on the government's 2024 budget proposal and before Yoon heads to the Netherlands for a state visit.
Yoon is widely expected to retain his chief of staff, Kim Dae-ki, while replacing all but one senior presidential secretary, Lee Kwan-sup, the senior secretary for policy planning.
The senior secretary for economic affairs, Choi Sang-mok, is rumored to be Yoon's next pick for finance minister, as current Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho is certain to run for parliament.
Choi's replacement is likely to be Park Chun-sup, a monetary policymaker of the Bank of Korea.
Han Oh-seop, presidential secretary for state affairs monitoring, is being considered to replace Lee Jin-bok as senior secretary for political affairs, while presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon could be promoted to replace Kim Eun-hye as senior secretary for public relations.
Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon is believed to be a strong candidate for senior secretary for social policy, and former KBS news anchor Whang Sang-moo is considered a top contender for senior secretary for civil and social agenda.
A reorganization of the presidential office is also reportedly under review.
Yoon is almost certain to newly establish the position of senior secretary for science and technology, while splitting the responsibilities of the senior secretary for social policy with three newly created senior secretaries for the environment, labor and welfare.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet shakeup will likely see the replacements of Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and Veterans Minister Park Min-shik, as both are expected to run for parliament, along with Finance Minister Choo.
The presidential office is also vetting potential candidates to replace Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who is widely expected to be assigned a role in the upcoming elections.
Other ministers potentially subject to replacement include Foreign Minister Park Jin, and the ministers of labor, SMEs and startups, science, agriculture, and fisheries.
