(LEAD) Moon nominates new FSC, human rights commission chiefs

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3-4, 6-7, 11-14)

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in on Thursday nominated new chiefs of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, while replacing six vice ministerial level positions, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Koh Seung-beom, a former financial regulator and currently a member of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board, was tapped to head the FSC, and Song Doo-hwan, senior attorney at law firm Hankyul, was nominated as chairman of the state rights watchdog.

In last month's BOK monetary policy board meeting, Koh was the sole member who expressed the need to increase the country's key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point.

"Nominee Koh is widely recognized for his expertise in financial policy," Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication, said in a press briefing. "He is expected to communicate closely with the finance ministry to contribute to achieving a swift and strong economic recovery," Park added.

Song in the past served as a Constitutional Court justice and also led a special counsel team in 2003 to investigate an alleged money-for-summit deal between South and North Korea in 2000.

Park credited Song for having campaigned for the expansion of political freedom and other basic rights, while fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised. "He will work hard to raise the country's stature as that of a model human rights nation," Park said.

Koh and Song are required to go through National Assembly confirmation hearings, the dates of which have yet to be set.

Ko Kyu-chang, head of the interior ministry's policy planning office, was promoted to vice minister, and Lee Seung-woo, head of the ministry's disaster management cooperation policy bureau, was promoted to vice minister for disaster and safety management.

Park Ki-young, head of the industry ministry's planning and coordination office, was promoted to second vice minister, and Yeo Han-koo, Cheong Wa Dae secretary for new southern and northern policies, was tapped as the new trade minister.

Park Moo-ik, the transportation ministry's transportation logistics office chief, was named as the head of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction, and Hong Hyun-ik, the head of security and strategy studies at the Sejong Institute, was tapped as the chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Excluded from the announcement were nominations of new heads of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) and the oceans ministry. The BAI chief position has remained vacant since late June after former Chairman Choe Jae-hyeong resigned to run for president.

Moon Seong-hyeok, the current oceans minister, is serving as a placeholder chief after minister nominee Park Jun-young stepped down during his parliamentary confirmation process in May following a controversy over his wife's alleged smuggling of porcelain ware without proper customs declarations.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said the office was "working from multiple angles in order to nominate a candidate who is fit to oversee BAI's role and function and is also ethically qualified."

The official hinted that the sitting oceans minister could maintain his job going forward, saying that "now is the time to conclude various administrative tasks" and that "the current minister is expected to carry out that duty well."

odissy@yna.co.kr
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