Yoon weighs replacing around 10 vice ministers

Politics 14:53 June 08, 2023

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is weighing replacing around 10 vice ministers as early as next week to give a boost to key state projects in his administration's second year in office, officials said Thursday.

The ministries under consideration for a reshuffle include the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, unification, defense, the interior, culture, environment, land and oceans. The Office for Government Policy Coordination is also reportedly on the list.

"A vice ministerial level reshuffle is being planned, and it's not going to be small in scope," a key presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

The reshuffle could affect more than half the 19 government ministries, with some having both their first and second vice ministers replaced, the official said.

The new appointees will likely be chosen from among those who have familiarized themselves with the Yoon government's administrative philosophies so that they can spearhead the push to implement key administrative tasks and bring renewed vigor to the ministries.

"It appears that the reshuffle has been finalized internally, with only the fine tuning left," another official told Yonhap News Agency. "It could be announced next week."

Yoon is reportedly considering nominating the new chief of the state broadcasting watchdog around the same time.

Lee Dong-kwan, a special adviser to the president and former senior presidential secretary for press affairs under the Lee Myung-bak administration, has reportedly been picked to head the Korea Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, a reshuffle of vice ministers will likely lead to a partial reorganization of the presidential office as some of its members are appointed vice ministers.