Seoul, June 23 South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday named a seasoned diplomat as the new foreign minister as he announced his picks for 11 Cabinet positions, including defence and unification ministers, according to the presidential office.
Lee named former First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun his new foreign minister and five-term Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back his defence minister.
Cho served as both the first and second vice ministers under the Moon Jae-in government before serving as the South Korean ambassador to the United Nations from 2019-22.
Ahn is a veteran politician who has mostly served on the defence subcommittee of the National Assembly. If confirmed, he will be the first "civilian" defence minister since 1961, when former President Park Chung-hee seized power through a military coup.
Lee also nominated Chung Dong-young, a journalist-turned-veteran DP lawmaker, for unification minister, responsible for inter-Korean affairs. Chung previously served as the unification minister under the Roh Moo-hyun government from 2004-05.
Bae Kyung-hoon, head of LG AI Research, was named minister for science and ICT, with former conservative lawmaker Kwon Oh-eul being tapped as minister for veterans affairs.
Lee added incumbent DP lawmakers to his ministers' list. Rep. Kim Sung-whan was tapped as the minister for environment. Kim served as co-chairman of the policy headquarters of Lee's election campaign committee and played a key role in creating various election pledges, including those in the areas of climate and energy.
Kim, who is also a member of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Climate Crisis, has made efforts to phase out nuclear power and expand the use of renewable energy. His legislative activities included an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Development and Distribution of Environment-Friendly Motor Vehicles.
Rep. Kang Sun-woo as minister for gender equality, and Rep. Jun Jae-soo as oceans minister.
Han Seong-sook, former CEO of South Korea's internet portal giant Naver Corp., was named to lead the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Kim Young-hoon, former head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was tapped as labor minister, Yonhap news agency reported.
Song Mi-ryeong, the current agriculture minister, will retain her post.
Lee also named Yoon Chang-yul, former first deputy director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, its director.
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