June 9, 2025
SEOUL – President Lee Jae-myung is set to enter his second week in office focused on filling key Cabinet posts and secretariat appointments, as he gears up for his diplomatic debut at the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
Lee took the oath of office on Wednesday, immediately after his election victory Tuesday and without a transition period, as his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached in mid-December last year for his brief imposition of martial law and removed from office in April.
The new president is now tasked with addressing the fallout from the monthslong leadership void in South Korea while Washington’s deadline on the pause of US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is about a month away.
Upon Lee’s visit to Canada, speculation has pointed to in-person meetings with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba materializing.
Earlier this week, both Seoul and Washington confirmed that Lee had held phone talks with his US counterpart on Friday night.
Following the 20-minute phone call, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing Saturday that Lee has “made the decision to attend” the Group of Seven summit scheduled for June 15-17 in Canada. Lee’s office has yet to unveil his itinerary for the summit.
Regarding a potential meeting with Trump, an official from the presidential office said it was “faithfully preparing” for the meeting. The official added that phone talks with other world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, were also being arranged.
Lee would become the first South Korean president to attend the G7 summit in two years, since his disgraced predecessor Yoon attended a summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2023.
The surprising announcement over Lee’s G7 summit attendance came a few weeks after Lee, then as presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, said in a news conference on May 18 that he believed South Korea had not received an invitation for the summit.
At the same news conference, Lee said that he prioritizes domestic issues over his presence at the NATO summit scheduled for June 24-26 in the Netherlands, unless the event “specifically addresses current issues” of concern.
On his first day in office, the first executive order Lee issued was to establish a body for an emergency economic review to address the faltering national economy.
Meanwhile, Lee’s office on Sunday announced more secretary nominations, signaling a boost to resolve social division and igniting a reform drive targeting the prosecution.
Woo Sang-ho, a former four-term lawmaker, was nominated as presidential secretary for political affairs. Woo formerly served in key leadership roles in the major liberal party and is deemed an appropriate fit for the position to revive bipartisanship and resolve social conflict in South Korea, given his lifelong experience in politics, chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said in a briefing Sunday.
Former prosecutor Oh Kwang-soo was named to be presidential secretary for civil affairs. Kang said Oh has a “deep understanding of Lee’s initiatives to reform South Korea’s prosecution.” Referring to multiple criminal cases for which Lee was indicted, the presidential office said Lee had fallen victim to politically motivated prosecution that had often been sought to remove the political opponents of then-President Yoon.
Lee Kyu-youn, a career journalist and former CEO of JTBC, was picked as presidential secretary for public relations and communication.
Lee previously announced nominations of key figures in his first week of his presidency, including prime minister nominee Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief of staff Kang, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac, Director of National Policy Kim Yong-beom and others.
While two more senior presidential secretary seats remained vacant as of press time, alongside deputy director posts at the presidential National Security Office, the presidential office was “still reviewing” future nominations, according to an official who asked for anonymity.
Lee is also working to fill two seats in the nine-member bench at the Constitutional Court.
Regarding controversy arising from one of three candidates under consideration being an attorney who had defended Lee in one of his criminal cases, the presidential official commented, “Should anyone who defended Lee in his criminal case not perform (such a) duty?” The official added he could not understand how Lee’s consideration over naming his lawyer as a Constitutional Court justice could be deemed a conflict of public interest.
Another official of the presidential office added that further nominations for Cabinet ministers or vice ministers would not come into shape in the near future.
The official said, “The prime minister nominee is now preparing for the parliament’s confirmation hearing. We need to wait and see how the hearing proceeds.”
The official also hinted at introducing a system that would allow ordinary people to make recommendations for public official nominations, as promised during Lee’s presidential campaign.
consnow@heraldcorp.com