Choi Jong-ku, a former finance ministry bureaucrat and incumbent head of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, was tapped as the first financial chief under President Moon Jae-in, and energy scholar Paik Un-gyu, professor of energy engineering at Hanyang University, nominated for the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The minister of health and welfare position went to Park Neung-hoo, professor of social welfare at Kyonggi University. Park holds a Ph.D in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.

Lee Hyo-seong, professor of mass communication at Sungkyunkwan University, was appointed to chair the ministerial-level Korea Communications Commission in charge of wireless and broadcasting policy reviews.

Choi was an expert in international finance and served as the deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service before moving onto the Eximbank Korea. The choice of an energy expert who has a Ph.D in ceramic engineering at Clemson University, U.S. comes after Moon’s initiative to wean the country off nuclear and fossil-fueled power.

In the posts that do not require legislative confirmation, Hong Jang-pyo, professor of economics at Pukyong National University, was named presidential secretary for economy while Bahn Jahng-shick, head of the Management of Technology Graduate School at Sogang University, was recruited as the senior presidential secretary to promote jobs.

By Kang Gye-man

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