President Lee nominates Ahn Gyu-baek as Defense Minister... 11 Cabinet appointments / YTN

[Anchor] President Lee Jae-myung has announced the appointment of 11 ministerial nominees, including the nomination of five-term lawmaker Ahn Gyu-baek as the Minister of National Defense, as well as the Head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. This marks the first ministerial appointments since his inauguration. We connect with our reporter. Reporter Jung In-yong! [Reporter] Yes, this is the Presidential Office in Yongsan. [Anchor] This is the first ministerial announcement since the new administration took office. Please give us the details of the briefing by Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. [Reporter] Yes, President Lee Jae-myung first nominated five-term Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Gyu-baek as the candidate for Minister of National Defense. This is the first time in 64 years that a non-military figure has been nominated as Minister of National Defense, and the first time since the May 16 Military Coup in 1961. Candidate Ahn's high level of understanding of the military, having spent most of his career serving on the National Assembly's Defense Committee, was cited as the reason for his selection. Song Mi-ryeong, the current Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, was unexpectedly retained as the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik emphasized that Minister Song's retention is based on the Lee Jae-myung administration's "pragmatism," which grants opportunities regardless of conservative or progressive affiliation and judges candidates based on merit. Former First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun was nominated as the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Representative Chung Dong-young as the Minister of Unification; and former Representative Kwon Oh-eul as the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Baek Kyung-hoon, Head of LG AI Research Institute, was selected as the Minister of Science and ICT; Han Sung-sook, former CEO of Naver, was selected as the Minister of SMEs and Startups; and Representative Kim Sung-hwan was named as the Minister of Environment. Kim Young-hoon, former Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), was selected as the Minister of Employment and Labor, who will be responsible for the new government's labor policies. The Presidential Office expressed expectations that Candidate Kim, who has represented the voice of labor, will play a role in strengthening labor rights, such as reducing industrial accidents, amending the "Yellow Envelope Law," and implementing the 4.5-day workweek. There were quite a few appointments of lawmakers, including Representative Kang Sun-woo as the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family and Representative Jeon Jae-soo as the nominee for Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. President Lee appointed Yoon Chang-ryeol, former First Deputy Head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, as the Head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. [Anchor] I understand that President Lee held his first meeting with senior secretaries and aides today (the 23rd), just 19 days after taking office? [Reporter] President Lee presided over his first meeting with senior secretaries and aides this afternoon, attended by the Chiefs of Staff and Senior Secretaries of the Presidential Office. At the meeting, President Lee first addressed the rapidly escalating situation in the Middle East following the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. He emphasized that the situation in the Middle East is critical and that all ministries, including the Presidential Office, must establish an emergency response system, stressing the need for safety measures for Korean citizens in the region. He also urged for swift action, noting that the financial and foreign exchange markets are becoming significantly unstable due to the increasing uncertainty stemming from the situation in the Middle East. In particular, expressing concern that price instability might resurface in conjunction with rising oil prices, he ordered that appropriate measures be devised. Regarding the supplementary budget drafted to stimulate domestic demand, he added that if alternatives are needed to prepare for the situation in the Middle East, measures should be devised in cooperation with the National Assembly. President Lee once again emphasized the attitude of public officials, stating that state affairs are an area where there is no end to what can be done if one chooses not to, and urged them to identify and carry out tasks that can be done as quickly as possible. This has been a report from the Presidential Office in Yongsan. YTN Jeong In-yong ([email protected]) ※ 'Your tip becomes news' [KakaoTalk] Search for YTN and add the channel [Phone] 02-398-8585 [Email] [email protected] ▶ Original Article : https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0101_202506... ▶ Send ...