June 6, 2025
SEOUL – President Lee Jae-myung held the first Cabinet meeting of his term on Thursday, where he asked ministers and heads of agencies, all appointed by his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, to do their best while they are in office.
“We need to put the people first, and do the best we can at the given moment,” Lee told Cabinet members at the meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul.
“Of course, some of you might feel this is quite awkward, but at the end of the day, we all work for the people. We cannot make light of the responsibilities entrusted upon us by the people, and I trust you to do your best.”
As Lee was elected in a by-election after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office, the president did not have a transition period following Tuesday’s election. He begins his term with Cabinet members appointed by the last administration.
“It will take some time before I get the administration in order. While I do that, people are going through a difficult time and I’d like to make that time shorter, as much as I can,” Lee said.
In one of his first moves as president, Lee dropped nominations for Constitutional Court justices made by former Prime Minister and then-acting President Han Duck-soo, according to the presidential office spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung.
Han nominated Government Legislation Minister Lee Wan-kyu and Seoul High Court Justice Ham Sang-hun to succeed two outgoing Constitutional Court justices.
The Democratic Party had slammed Han when he made the appointments, saying an acting president should not have the same authority as an elected president to fill such vacancies.
Following the withdrawal on Thursday, two seats on the Constitutional Court are up for fresh nominations.
The president also ordered the government to begin preparations to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan — a key campaign pledge, his office said. The ministry is currently based in Sejong, about 109 kilometers south of Seoul.
A call is being arranged between US President Donald Trump and Lee, possibly at a later date, according to Kang. “For now, we are in the process of coordinating the phone call. We cannot confirm anything at this stage,” she told reporters.
Later in the day, Kang once again said “nothing’s confirmed yet” about a call with Trump.
“Factors such as the difference in time zones and other schedules are being taken into account. We’ll let you know when it’s finalized, which I think will be soon,” she said.
Lee’s spokesperson added she could not give an immediate response to whether the president will be attending the June 15-17 summit meeting of the Group of Seven in Canada or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in the Hague on June 24-25.
“I have to check and get back to you on that,” she said.
The US Congressional Korea Caucus congratulated Lee on his election victory.
In a statement Thursday, co-chairs of the Congressional Korea Caucus, Reps. Ami Bera, Marilyn Strickland, Joe Wilson and Mike Kelly, said they wished Lee and his administration well to lead Korea, “a key and indispensable ally, through the many challenges facing the Korean Peninsula and beyond.”
“As co-chairs of the Korea Caucus, we remain steadfastly committed to defending, strengthening, and enlarging the ironclad US-Korea alliance,” they said. “We look forward to working together with President Lee Jae-myung and his administration during this critical time for the alliance.”
Questions remain whether Lee, who had been battling simultaneous criminal trials before his election, will continue to attend his court cases as a sitting president.
The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a jail sentence of seven years and eight months for Lee’s deputy, dating to when he was Gyeonggi Province governor, for the illegal transfer of funds to North Korea.
The $8 million, the court said, were sent to North Korea to facilitate Lee’s visit to Pyongyang. Lee has denied involvement in or knowledge of the scheme.
The Democratic Party of Korea says the courts must suspend Lee’s criminal trials.
“Since he has assumed office as president, his criminal cases ought to be suspended under the Constitution. This is not a matter of debate,” Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, the party’s chief spokesperson, said Thursday.
Article 84 of the Constitution says incumbent presidents are immune from criminal prosecution, but it does not state what should happen to criminal trials that were already underway.
According to exit polls, 64 percent of voters believed Lee’s criminal trials should continue even if he became president, while 26 percent said they should be delayed until after his term as president.
On the day of his inauguration Wednesday, Lee announced the first set of nominations for key positions.
Lee plucked Kim Min-seok from the Democratic Party leadership to serve as prime minister and named Kang Hoon-sik, a three-time Democratic Party lawmaker, as his chief of staff.
As for his national security team, the president tapped Lee Jong-seok, who was unification minister for the late President Roh Moo-hyun, for director of the National Intelligence Service, and Wi Sung-lac, former ambassador to Russia, for director of the National Security Office.
Cabinet members have to go through a confirmation hearing and be confirmed by the National Assembly before they are appointed.
Lee won the presidential election Tuesday with 49.42 percent of the vote against 41.15 percent that went to his People Power Party opponent Kim Moon-soo.