Yoon names ex-Gyeonggi governor new labor minister, appoints envoys to Japan and Australia

The president tapped former Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo, chair of the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council, as his new labor minister, the presidential office announced Wednesday.

Kim Moon-soo, the new labor minister nominee, speaks to reporters at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday named a former labor rights activist as his new labor minister, along with his next top envoys to Japan and Australia, both countries considered key partners to Korea in the Indo-Pacific region.

Yoon tapped former Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo, chair of the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council, as his new labor minister, the presidential office announced Wednesday.

Park Cheol-hee, head of the Seoul-based state think tank Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), was nominated as ambassador to Japan.

Retired Navy Adm. Sim Seung-seob, who served as chief of naval operations, was named as the top envoy to Australia, a post left vacant for the past four months.

During a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office, Yoon's chief of staff Chung Jin-suk described labor minister nominee Kim as an "individual who had worked fiercely to improve workers' rights and interests during his 20s and 30s" and is "recognized for his administrative capabilities."

A native of North Gyeongsang, Kim was a labor rights activist in the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, he was expelled from Seoul National University (SNU) twice for his involvement in student democracy movements. Kim later received a degree in business administration at SNU.

During his expulsion, he worked at a clothing factory and served as a branch head of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, leading to imprisonment.

Kim later served as a three-term lawmaker of the precursor to the conservative People Power Party. He became Gyeonggi governor in 2006, serving two terms.

Despite his roots in the labor movement, Kim has since received strong criticism from the labor sector for his extreme right-wing remarks made as a politician.

As head of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, Kim led "social dialogue and consultations between labor, management and government to build a sustainable economy and society," Chung said.

Amid a slew of employment and labor issues at hand, Chung pointed to Kim's experience both in the legislature and labor activism, calling him the "right person to complete the task of labor reform."

Kim pledged during the press briefing to "listen carefully to the voices of the labor community," including the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, Korea Enterprises Federation, lawmakers, academia and the press.

From left: Park Cheol-hee, Sim Seung-seob

Japan expert Park replaces Yun Duk-min, also a former head of the KNDA, who has served as ambassador to Tokyo since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol government in May 2022.

Park, who hails from academia, was a professor of Japanese politics at SNU before being appointed head of the KNDA in March last year.

Sim served as Navy chief from 2018 to 2020 during the Moon Jae-in administration and participated in Yoon's election campaign.

He replaces former Lee Jong-sup, who resigned as ambassador to Australia in late March after snowballing public backlash over his appointment.

Lee, a former defense minister, had been embroiled in an ongoing investigation into allegations that he intervened in the military's response to an internal probe into a young Marine's death in a flooding last year. This led to accusations that his appointment to Canberra was a means to evade the investigation process.

Sim's appointment is the second to Canberra of a military official, showing Seoul's intentions to expand defense cooperation and arms exports to Australia.

If Sim is appointed, it would mark the second consecutive appointment of an ambassador with a military background amid Seoul's push to expand its arms exports.

Yoon named Ambassador to the Netherlands Choe Hyoung-chan as the new KNDA chancellor to replace Park.

The president also formally appointed Lee Jin-sook, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) chief nominee, despite backlash from Democratic Party lawmakers.

The latest appointments come after Yoon conducted a major reshuffle earlier this year as he marked his second year in office.

On Tuesday, Yoon held a closed-door meeting with new People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon at the Yongsan presidential office. This was the two former prosecutors' first one-on-one meeting following the PPP's national convention last week.

Yoon advised Han to "make his own people," a presidential official said Wednesday, stressing the importance of embracing diverse people.

Despite rumors of a falling out, the two were seen putting behind reported tension during a PPP leadership dinner hosted by Yoon last week.

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