With G7 on horizon, Lee Jae-myung races to fill key posts in South Korea

The Star

3 hours ago

SEOUL: President Lee Jae-myung (pic) is set to enter his second week in office focused on filling key Cabinet posts and secretariat appointments, as he gears up for his diplomatic debut at the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
Lee took the oath of office on Wednesday (June 4), immediately after the election victory and without a transition period, as his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached in mid-December last year for his brief imposition of martial law and removed from office in April.
The new president is now tasked with addressing the fallout from the monthslong leadership void in South Korea while Washington's deadline on the pause of US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs is about a month away.
There are speculations that Lee's in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba could materialise on the occasion of Lee's visit to Canada.
Earlier this week, both Seoul and Washington confirmed that Lee had held phone talks with his US counterpart Friday night Seoul time.
A day after the 20-minute phone call, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing Saturday that Lee has "made the decision to attend" the Group of Seven summit scheduled on June 15-17 in Canada. Lee's office has yet to unveil Lee's itinerary for the summit.
Regarding Lee's potential meeting with Trump, an official from the presidential office said it was "faithfully preparing" for the meeting. The official added that phone talks with world leaders, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, were also being arranged.
Lee would become the first South Korean president to attend the G7 summit in two years, after his disgraced predecessor Yoon attended one in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2023.
The surprising announcement over Lee's G7 summit attendance came a few weeks after Lee, then-presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, said in a news conference on May 18 that he believed South Korea had not received an invitation for the summit.
At the same news conference, Lee said that he prioritises domestic issues over his presence at the NATO summit scheduled for June 24-26 in the Netherlands, unless the event "specifically addresses current issues" of concern.
On his first day in office, the first executive order Lee issued was to establish a body for the emergency economic review to address the faltering national economy.
Meanwhile, Lee's office on Sunday announced more of Lee's secretary nominations, signaling a boost to resolve a social division and igniting a reform drive targeting the prosecution.
Woo Sang-ho, a former four-term lawmaker, was nominated presidential secretary for political affairs. Woo has also formerly served in key leadership roles in the major liberal party, and is deemed a right fit for the position to revive bipartisanship and resolve social conflict in South Korea, given his lifelong experience in politics, Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said in a briefing Sunday.
Former prosecutor Oh Kwang-soo was named presidential secretary for civil affairs. Kang said Oh has a "deep understanding of Lee's initiatives to reform South Korea's prosecution." Referring to multiple criminal cases for which Lee was indicted, the presidential office said Lee had fallen victim to politically motivated prosecution, which often sought to remove political opponents of then-President Yoon.
Also, Lee Kyu-youn, a career journalist and former CEO of JTBC, was picked as presidential secretary for public relations and communication.
This follows the announcement of Lee's nominations of key figures in his first week of presidency, including prime minister nominee Kim Min-seok, Chief of Staff Kang, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, Director of National Policy Kim Yong-beom, and others.
While the two more senior presidential secretary seats remain vacant as of press time, alongside deputy director posts at the presidential National Security Office, the presidential office was "still reviewing" future nominations, according to an official who asked for anonymity.
Another official of the presidential office said that Lee's future nominations for Cabinet ministers will not come into shape in the near future. The official said, "The prime minister nominee is now preparing for the parliament's confirmation hearing. We need to wait and see how the hearing proceeds."
The official also hinted at introducing the national system in the future, which would allow ordinary people to recommend public official nominations, as promised during Lee's presidential campaign. - The Korea Herald/ANN