Yoon names new intelligence chief, foreign minister in latest Cabinet shakeup

President Yoon Suk Yeol named his new chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the country's top spy agency, and foreign minister on Tuesday, the latest in a series of recent Cabinet shakeups.

National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, left, is named new chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and Cho Tae-yul, right, a former second vice foreign minister, as foreign minister in a press briefing by presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol named his new chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the country's top spy agency, and foreign minister on Tuesday, the latest in a series of recent Cabinet shakeups.

National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong was named the new NIS director, announced presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki in a press briefing.

The NIS chief post has been vacant since former NIS chief Kim Kyou-hyun resigned last month over criticism regarding personnel management at the spy agency.

Cho Tae-yul, a former second vice foreign minister, replaces Foreign Minister Park Jin, a diplomat-turned-politician.

Park, a former lawmaker, is reportedly considering running in the general elections in April next year.

Cho Tae-yong, a career diplomat, served as Korean ambassador to the United States from May 2022 to March this year, when he was appointed national security adviser.

Kim said that Cho is "a strategist in diplomacy and security" through his experience at the Foreign Ministry and National Security Office and is "well versed in both U.S. relations and North Korea security issues."

Cho graduated from Seoul National University and joined the Foreign Ministry after passing the foreign service exam in 1980.

Considered an expert in North Korean denuclearization and U.S. affairs, Cho has served in various positions at the Foreign Ministry, including as top nuclear envoy.

He served as first vice foreign minister in the conservative Park Geun-hye administration in 2014 and first deputy chief of the presidential National Security Office (NSO) in 2015. He was later elected as a proportional representative in 2020.

"If I am appointed NIS director after undergoing a parliamentary hearing process, I will do my best to unite the agency's staff and make the NIS a top-notch intelligence agency comparable to any other spy agency in the world," Cho told reporters at the Yongsan presidential office.

Cho Tae-yul, also a career diplomat who joined the Foreign Ministry in 1979, served in posts including ambassador to the UN in Geneva, deputy minister for trade, and ambassador to Spain.

Considering well-versed in multilateral diplomacy and trade, Cho became a vice foreign minister during the Park administration in 2013. He served as ambassador to the UN in New York in 2016 when the UN Security Council strengthened sanctions on North Korea.

In his time in Geneva, Cho was chairman of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel.

Like the president, he is a Seoul National University College of Law graduate.

Regarding foreign minister nominee Cho, Kim pointed to his rich "bilateral and multilateral diplomatic experience," primarily through his time at the United Nations.

"In an international environment where economic security is complicated, we believe his diplomatic expertise and prowess will greatly contribute to resolving various foreign affairs issues facing Korea," Kim added.

"I feel pressured being nominated as the foreign minister in a geopolitical era where the boundaries between security and the economy are collapsing," Foreign Minister nominee Cho said. "If I am appointed after a parliamentary hearing, I will do my best to strengthen national security while wisely navigating the severe external environment."

The latest reshuffling of the diplomatic and intelligence lines comes as Yoon's office has been announcing new appointments in recent weeks as Cabinet members are vying to run in April's parliamentary elections and also as the administration gears up to follow up on policy tasks and reforms.

A new national security adviser has yet to be named, and a senior presidential official said Yoon is still "reviewing" the replacement.

The presidential office, however, announced it will establish a new third deputy national security adviser position to handle economic security issues.

The first deputy national security adviser handles foreign policy, while the second deputy covers national defense.

This new third deputy position will be created taking into consideration the changing international economic order and the need for a post to helm supply chain matters, the presidential official said.

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