Seoul, June 21 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has appointed new senior presidential secretaries for communications and civil affairs, along with three other aides, the presidential chief of staff said Sunday.
Seong Ghi-hong, former CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, was appointed presidential secretary for public relations and communication, while Han Chan-sik, a former senior prosecutor, was named presidential secretary for civil affairs, the official said.
Kim Kyoung-ja, former vice chairperson of the country’s biggest umbrella union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was appointed presidential secretary for social affairs, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Former Army commander Kang Gun-jark and Song Ki-ho, a senior official at the National Security Office, were named the first and third deputy national security advisers, respectively.
Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik described the new presidential secretary for communication, the second person to hold the post under the Lee administration, as a veteran journalist with 30 years of experience who is equipped with a sense of balance and sound judgment.
“He will closely listen to people’s voices and faithfully carry out communication with the public so that people can easily understand the results of government policies,” Kang said.
In addition, Lee appointed Nam Jae-heon, a senior oceans ministry official overseeing Seoul’s envisioned expansion of Arctic shipping routes, as vice minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing.
Nam is the right person to usher in an era of Arctic shipping routes and advance South Korea’s aim to become a strong maritime nation, Kang said.
The reshuffle came as Lee entered the second year of his five-year term after taking office in June last year.
On Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Seoul after wrapping up his first trip to Europe aimed at expanding South Korea’s diplomatic landscape beyond Asia toward Europe.
The presidential plane carrying Lee landed at Seoul Air Base, just south of Seoul, following his 10-day three-nation trip.
The trip, which began last week, first took the president to Belgium and then Italy, where he sought to enhance the country’s relations with the European nations, as well as the European Union.
In Brussels, Lee held summit talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, followed by a summit with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, president of the European Council.
In Italy, Lee held summit talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, agreeing to elevate bilateral ties to a special strategic partnership, while also meeting with Pope Leo XIV, where he confirmed the Vatican’s continued support for Seoul’s efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to the presidential office.
Lee’s European trip concluded in Evian-les-Bains, France, where he attended the G7 summit as the head of an invited country for the second consecutive year.
–IANS
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