Yoon replaces defense, culture and gender ministers in Cabinet reshuffle

President Yoon Suk Yeol reshuffles Cabinet, replacing defense, culture, and gender equality ministers. New appointments include Rep. Shin Won-sik as defense minister, Yoo In-chon as culture minister, and Kim Haeng as gender equality minister.

From left, Culture Minister nominee Yoo In-chon, Gender Equality minister nominee Kim Haeng and Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik take part in a press briefing announcing their appointments in a Cabinet reshuffle at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol replaced his defense, culture and gender equality ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday.

Rep. Shin Won-sik, 65, a lawmaker of the People Power Party (PPP) and a retired Army lieutenant general, was tapped as new defense minister, announced Kim Dae-ki, presidential chief of staff, in a press briefing at the Yongsan office in Wednesday afternoon.

Shin replaces Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, who offered to resign Tuesday after the Democratic Party (DP) pushed for a motion to impeach him for allegedly mishandling a military investigation into a young Marine's death.

Yoo In-chon, 72, who became Yoon's special presidential adviser for culture, sports and tourism in July, will replace Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyoon.

Yoo, a TV and stage actor who has received numerous Baeksang Arts Awards, served as culture minister from 2008 to 2011 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Even after stepping down as culture minister, he continued to serve as a special adviser to Lee and later became chairman of Seoul Arts Center.

Kim Haeng, 64, a former journalist and PPP lawmaker who has served on the party's interim leadership committee, was named as new minister of gender equality and family minister. Kim previously served as presidential spokesperson during the Park Geun-hye administration.

She replaces Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook, who faced criticism for her part in preparing and responding to the problem-ridden World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla, last month. President Yoon had been keen on scrapping the Gender Equality Ministry all together, one of his key campaign pledges, and Kim had been expected to be his first and last gender minister.

The latest reshuffle comes as the Yoon administration is in its second year and is keen on moving along its major state affairs and reform policies ahead of next year's general elections.

Yoon has often appointed former Lee Myung-bak government officials to key posts in his administration.

Chief of Staff Kim said in the press briefing that the defense minister nominee was "determined to be the best individual to build our security capabilities against the North Korean nuclear and missile threats and complete Defense Innovation 4.0," referring to the national defense initiative aimed at acquiring advanced technologies to strengthen security capabilities amid potential personnel shortages in the future.

Shin, a PPP proportional representative, previously served in the military for 35 years and held key senior posts at the Defense Ministry and South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

During his long military career, Shin gained "extensive experience in the field of defense policy and operations," according to Kim.

This includes serving as vice chairman of the JCS, commanding general at the Capital Defense Command and director of the Defense Ministry's Policy Planning Bureau. He retired from the military in 2016 and serves as secretary of the PPP's National Defense Commission.

He is known for his expertise in defense policy and strategy and has been recognized as a strong communicator in the military.

Shin is a graduate of the Korea Military Academy and received his doctoral degree in business administration at Kookmin University.

"The security environment domestically and abroad faces many serious challenges," Shin told reporters at the press briefing. "Although it may not be enough, I will do my best if I become minister so that the people may live comfortably. I will do my best to create a soldier worthy of being a soldier and an army worthy of being an army."

The replacement of Yoon's first appointed defense minister comes at a critical time as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is making a visit to Russia for a critical summit with President Vladimir Putin and intensifying nuclear and missile threats.

Shin's appointment comes on the heels of outgoing Minister Lee's reportedly decision to resign to prevent a "security vacuum" in case the DP impeaches him over accusations that he intervened in a military investigation into the death of 21-year-old Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chae Su-geun.

Chae died after being swept away in a stream in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang, during a search for victims of monsoon flooding on July 19, sparking criticism that the military's rescue operations ignored proper safety measures.

The DP, holding a parliamentary majority, has been seeking to pass a motion to impeach Lee, accusing him of unfairly interfering with an initial probe into Chae's death and preventing the investigation from being transferred to the police. After Lee's offer to resign Wednesday, the DP called for his dismissal instead, saying that he is avoiding responsibility.

Yoon has yet to formally accept his resignation.

"Because a security vacuum cannot exist even for a single day, Minister Lee's resignation will not be accepted until a confirmation hearing," said a senior presidential official.

The official also told reporters that the controversy over Chae's death had "not been taken into consideration" when the president decided to replace Lee.

"After the Camp David summit in the United States, our security environment has developed to a global level through consultations with countries and allies with the same values and ideologies, so we selected a suitable candidate," the official said.

Shin, he, added, is noted for his work toward holding South Korea-U. S. joint military exercises and alliance matters and strengthening the defense industry.

Culture Minister nominee Yoo is a native of Wanju in North Jeolla, and a graduate of Chung-Ang University who majored in theater and film and began his acting career in 1974 through broadcaster MBC's talent recruiting program.

Kim, who served as second vice culture minister from 2009 to 2010 when Yoo was culture minister, told reporters, "Not only does [Yoo] have a wide understanding and insight into the cultural and arts sector, but he also has policy capabilities through his past ministerial duties and is judged to be the right person to help take K-culture to the next level and spread it globally."

"All the answers are in the field, and the field is changing very quickly these days, just like AI or chatbots," Yoo told reporters. "I will make plan so that we can quickly catch up with new policies to the changing field and employ all other supporting methods to befit the changing field."

"The president pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family," said Gender Minister nominee Kim. "However, it has its own purpose while it exists."

She added, "While it exists, the ministry will actively communicate with the public and make sure that we actually did our best to reach the people we target."

Regarding the fate of the Gender Ministry, chief of staff Kim said, "Our government plans to abolish the Gender Ministry. We plan to transfer ministry tasks such as family, culture, youth and women's employment to the relevant ministries to provide good services to the public."

He said that a bill to abolish the Gender Ministry was submitted to the National Assembly earlier this year but has not yet been passed due to opposition from the DP.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]