Jew World Order

The team makes the leader. When speculating about the new President of South Korea, the fact that he has never worked as a professional politician before makes it all the more important to look at his close associates and the members of the presidential transition committee. After all, that committee is likely to become the core of the new government.

To begin with Yoon Seok-yeol’s immediate associates, since his team is formed largely through negotiation, it is quite possible that not all of its members have been directly appointed by the President-elect. Among its members are:

• Kweon Seong-dong, a four-term lawmaker and a childhood friend of Yoon’s. According to some reports, they first met when Yoon hid at the house of some relatives after taking part in the Chun Doo-hwan trial. Both men were born in 1960, and both served as public prosecutors, although Kweon sat his qualifying exam in 1985 and Yoon only in 1991. Kweon managed Yoon’s election campaign from its launch until he stepped down at the beginning of 2022 following a dispute within the campaign team.
• Chang Je-won. The head of Yoon’s campaign office in the run-up to the elections, he is now chief-of-staff in the President-elect’s administration. He is seen as the main mover in securing the agreement of Ahn Cheol-soo to support a single candidate.
• Yoon Han-hong. Yoon Han-hong worked in the president-elect’s campaign team both during and after the primaries.
• Kweon Young-se. A conservative lawmaker who has served four terms, he headed Yoon’s campaign after the departure of Kweon Seong-dong and was appointed as general secretary of the People Power Party. He is a former public prosecutor and has served as the Korean ambassador to China. Kweon is two years older than Yoon, and also studied law at Seoul National University. He is believed to be the person who convinced Yoon to join the People Power Party.
• Kim Sung-han. A childhood friend of Yoon (they both attended the same primary school, Kim is a specialist in American Studies and a professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of International Studies, who served as Deputy Foreign Minister from 2012 – 2013 and mentored the President-elect in foreign policy matters before the beginning of his election campaign.

Another specialist who advised Yoon on foreign policy issues during the primaries was Yun Duk-min, professor of foreign studies at Hankuk University and former head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. Other members of Yoon’s transitional team include the veteran diplomats Lee Do-hoon, Kim Hong-kyun and Hwang Joon-kook, all of whom have in the past been responsible for the country’s policy in relation to North Korea.

Another group is made up of Han Dong-hoon, Seok Dong-hyeon and Joo jin-woo, Yoon’s former colleagues in the public prosecutor’s office. Han and Yoon worked together as investigators on major cases including the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment and jailing of former President Park Geun-hye. Seok was at university with Yoon and served as special advisor to his election campaign, and Joo headed a team of advisors that defended the President-elect from attacks by political opponents, including allegations about his wife.

Following the above overview of Yoon’s informal associates, let us have a look at his official team. He appointed as policy assistants Kang-seog Hoon, professor of economics at Sungshin Women’s University, and Kim Hyun-seok, professor of economics at Soongsil University. Both of them previously served as senior secretaries in Park Geun-hye’s administration – Kang as secretary for economic affairs in 2016-17 and Kim as secretary for employment and welfare.

But the most interesting choice is Jang Sung-min, Chairman of the board of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum. An adviser to former President Kim Dae-jung, he is the diplomat who made headlines in 2020 when he claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had been in a coma for several months. Jang was Yoon’s opponent in the primaries for leadership of the People Power Party and was outspoken in his criticism of his rival – in fact, he was specifically asked by his party to refrain from attacking Yoon. However, according to Yoon’s spokesperson, once Jang dropped out of the party leadership race, Yoon “asked him not to spare him the hard truth and is said to have listened to his unfiltered advice and consulted with him throughout the election campaign.”

Yoon’s advisers are believed to include former Minister of Defense Kim Kwan-jin, who served under Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.  According to conservative MP Chung Jin-suk, it was Kim’s idea to have the President’s office transferred to the building housing the Ministry of Defense. But apparently Kim was too hawkish in his outlook for Park Geun-hye’s tastes, and rather than allowing him direct control over the armed forces he was “kicked upstairs” to the National Security Council.

Now for a few words about the presidential transition committee. It is headed by Ahn Cheol-soo, whose appointment was clearly agreed before the election. He is also the chairman of the national COVID-19 response committee, which is responsible for organizing medical support and also for compensating small businesses for the losses they suffer as a result of the pandemic.

But as for his future, that is an interesting question. On March 30, Ahn Cheol-soo withdrew his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister, stating that he wished to focus on his current duties.

It is likely that, following the merger between the People’s Party and the People Power Party, Ahn will stand for the post of party chairman (Lee Jun-seok’s term expires next year) and use this post as a trampoline for a 2027 presidential campaign. But, according to Ahn, “a year is a long time, and a lot can happen in that period. I will decide closer to the time – in politics long-term plans do not work like clockwork.”

Kweon Young-se, mentioned earlier in this article, will serve as deputy chairman of the transition committee.

Kim Han-gil, former head of the Democratic Party, has been appointed as head of the national unity subcommittee. Before the elections he served as chairman of the New Era Preparation Committee. Yoon has found places on this subcommittee for former members of the Democratic Party who migrated to his party.

Kim Byong-joon, former interim head of the Liberty Korea Party (as the People Power Party was formerly known, following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye), has been appointed as head of the subcommittee on balanced development. Earlier, he served alongside Moon Jae-in under President Roh Moo-hyun.

Two members of parliament, Choo Kyung-ho from the People Power Party and Lee Tae-kyu from the People’s party, as well as Choi Jong-hag, a professor at Seoul National University, have been appointed to the planning and coordination subcommittee.  Together they will discuss the transition committee’s “administrative vision and ideology.” Choo Kyung-ho, deputy Finance Minister from 2013-14 will take charge of day-to-day economic issues and Lee Tae-kyu will be responsible for non-economic issues.

Kim Sung-han, Yoon’s foreign policy mentor, has been appointed to lead the foreign policy and national security subcommittee.  The other members include Kim Tae-hyo, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University who served as Secretary of State for National Security under President Lee Myung-bak from 2008-12, and Lee Jong-seop, former Lieutenant General and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2017-18.

Kim Sung-han is expected to develop the country’s North Korea policy, while Lee will draw on his experience in defense strategy and relations with the US in order to fulfil Yoon’s election promises on national security. As for Kim Tae-hyo, the professor, those of the present author’s students who have studied under him during their time in Korea can testify to his character – while he is an intellectual who is happy to debate issues with others, he is still a foreign policy hawk.

Lee Yong-ho, conservative lawmaker and journalist turned politician has been appointed as head of the subcommittee for political, judicial and administrative affairs.

Choi Sang-mok, who graduated in law from Seoul National University and who served as Deputy Finance Minister from 2016-17, has been appointed as head of the first subcommittee for the economy. Before his appointment as Deputy Finance Minister he served as secretary for economics and finance under President Park Geun-hye, and is known as a high-flyer in the fields of macroeconomics and financial and securities policies.

Lee Chang-yan, Professor of Management Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) College of Business has been appointed as head of the second subcommittee for the economy, responsible for more specific issues. The other members are Lee Chang-yan, a professor of management engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) College of Business, Wang Yun-jong, a professor at Dongduk Women’s University, and the former head of the SK Innovation Group Ryu Woong-hwan, currently director of the TIDE Institute.  Ko San, general director and founder of ATEAM Ventures and formerly a finalist in the Korean Astronaut Program, was also appointed.

Park Sung-joong, a two-term lawmaker from the People Power Party, has been appointed as head of the subcommittee for science, technology and education. The other members are Kim Chang-kyung, a professor at Hanyang University, and Nam Ki-tae, a professor at Seoul National University.

Lim Lee-ja, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, has been appointed as head of the subcommittee for social affairs, welfare and culture. The other members are Ahn Sang-hoon, a professor at Seoul National University, Peck Kyong-ran, a professor of medicine at Sungkyunkwan University, and Kim Do-shik, deputy mayor of Seoul.

The transition team will have three spokespeople. Former Rep. Shin Yong-hyeon of the minor opposition People’s Party, who supported transition committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo during his presidential bid in 2017, will serve as senior spokesperson. Won Il-hee, a former reporter for broadcaster SBS, and Choi Ji-hyeon, an attorney, will serve as deputy spokespeople.

An overview of the transition committee’s suggests several interesting conclusions.

• In terms of their education – 13 out of the 24 committee members graduated from Seoul National University. Two others graduated from Korea University and Yonsei University, the second and third most prestigious universities in Korea. The top 3 universities are known by the acronym SKY.
• The average age of the committee members is 57. 22 out of the 24 members are aged between 50 and 60, with just two in their 40s – the youngest being 45.
• 20 out of the 24, or 80%, are men.
• As for the regions where the members come from, half (12) of them are from Seoul, and five of the rest come from the conservative heartland of Yeongnam.
• There are fewer politicians on the committee than might be expected. 12 of the members are current university professors, and only 6 of them serving lawmakers. However, most of the professors have served in administrative roles under previous conservative governments, and went into a kind of political exile under Moon Jae-in.

The makeup of the team has inevitably attracted criticism from the Democrats. Park Ji-hyun, co-chairperson of the Democratic Party’s emergency committee has commented that the “lack of diversity is to be regretted.” The committee has no members in their 20s, no specialists in education, no member specifically responsible for real estate issues and (particularly disturbing) “no member in charge of dealing with the climate crisis, which is an important and priceless matter”.

Interestingly, the conservative-leaning Korea Herald has also expressed similar concerns.   “It is absurd to staff an organization by mechanically sticking to representative proportions in terms of school, region and gender. But considering its bias to Seoul National University, Seoul and men, the team needs to take extra care on such issues as gender conflicts, regional strife and demands by young people in their 20s and 30s.”

To venture a provisional conclusion:

• In view of the fact that he is not a professional politician, Yoon has put together a team from past colleagues and people he has known for a long time. Many of the members of the committee have a background as public prosecutors or in legal education. Only time will show whether this close circle of the “President’s cronies” becomes a recipe for corruption. Hopefully this will not be the case.
• Yoon has tried to find a place for all deserving candidates, including “defectors” from the Democratic Party recommended by Ahn Cheol-soo. But the committee is dominated by conservatives who served under Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, and it is likely that they will be responsible for foreign policy, so we can expect increased tensions with North Korea.
• However, Yoon is not afraid to include his critics of former rivals on his team – Ahn Cheol-soo’s associates account for almost a third of the committee. Fortunately so far there is no sign of any factional tendencies – but of course following Yoon’s inauguration this may change.
• As far as professionalism is concerned, the team cannot be faulted, but there is always the risk that decisions will be made based on political loyalties.

Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, leading research fellow at the Center for Korean Studies of the Institute of the Far East at the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

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