[Choice Times=Byung-Tae Kim, Staff Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung has nominated former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon, currently an organizational committee chair of the People Power Party (PPP) for Seoul’s Jung–Seongdong-eul district, as minister-designate of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, which is set to be reinstated on January 2 next year.

By advancing what he calls a policy of “pragmatic and inclusive appointments,” President Lee has effectively shaken the People Power Party and the broader conservative bloc, which had formed a united front in opposition to him.

Lee Kyu-yeon, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, said regarding Lee Hye-hoon’s nomination, “The president adhered to the two core principles of his personnel policy—unity and pragmatism,” adding, “These appointees are widely recognized as top-tier experts in economic and budgetary affairs, with proven practical competence. Reporters are well aware of that.”

Minister-designate Lee is an economic policy specialist with a background at the Korea Development Institute (KDI). She served three terms as a National Assembly member representing Seoul’s Seocho-gap district. Following internal nomination disputes within her party, she moved her political base to northern Seoul, where she ran twice but was defeated both times.

During the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, Lee co-founded the Bareun Party together with former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min, a senior KDI alumnus. Around the same time, she entered politics alongside fellow Seoul National University Class of ’82 alumna Na Kyung-won. As the two became political rivals, their relationship later grew emotionally distant.

President Lee also appointed former lawmaker Kim Sung-sik—who served two terms in the National Assembly under the Grand National Party and later the People’s Party, and was once close to Sohn Hak-kyu and Ahn Cheol-soo—as vice chair (minister-level) of the National Economic Advisory Council. In addition, former Vice Minister Lee Kyung-soo, who served as head of the Science and Technology Innovation Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, was named vice chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology.

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Jung-sik (five-term legislator) was appointed as special adviser for political affairs, while Lee Han-joo—chairman of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences and widely described as President Lee’s mentor, as well as a former head of the State Affairs Planning Committee—was named special adviser on policy.

#PragmaticCabinet #BipartisanAppointments #LeeJaeMyungAdministration