SEOUL– President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will unveil his picks for senior presidential secretaries as well as his top security adviser on Sunday, the presidential transition committee said.
Chang Je-won, who is serving as Yoon’s chief of staff during the transition period, and Kim Dae-ki, who has been tapped as Yoon’s first of chief of staff in the incoming office, are expected to announce the list of Yoon’s top aides in a press conference scheduled at 2 p.m.
For the chief of the national security office, Yoon reportedly selected former Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han, who currently heads the foreign affairs and security subcommittee of Yoon’s transition team.
Kim Tae-hyo, who served as presidential secretary on national security strategy between 2008 and 2012, has been reportedly tapped as the first deputy director of the national security office, while Shin In-ho, former risk management officer at the office, has been reportedly named the second deputy director.
For the head of the presidential security service, Kim Yong-hyun, former operations director at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been reportedly selected to serve the job.
For senior secretaries, Yoon reportedly picked former Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok as his senior economic secretary and Ahn Sang-hoon, a professor of social welfare at Seoul National University, as his senior social secretary.
Former lawmaker Lee Jin-bok is expected to be named as senior political secretary, while Choi Young-bum, a journalist-turned-vice president at Hyosung Group, is expected to be named as senior communications secretary.
For senior civil society secretary, former lawmaker Kang Seung-kyoo is widely considered a candidate.
Kang In-sun, a former journalist at South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper who currently works as Yoon’s spokesperson for foreign press, has been reportedly tapped as the presidential office’s spokesperson.
Yoon is expected to have only five senior secretaries during his term following his plan to downsize the presidential office.
While the current President Moon Jae-in had eight senior secretaries and three offices under him, Yoon is expected to reduce them to five secretaries and have two offices — chief of staff and the national security offices.
Source: Yonhap News Agency