Lee Jae Myung finalizes Cabinet lineup with 2 minister picks

Chae Hwi-young (left) and Rep. Kim Yun-duk (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung has named two ministers to complete his administration's Cabinet nominations, about a month after his inauguration.

Chae Hwi-young, CEO of South Korea's online travel booking platform operator Nol Universe, was selected as the nominee for the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, according to Lee's Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik on Friday.

Three-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Yun-duk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was named to lead the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Chae, 61, is a journalist-turned-entrepreneur who also formerly led South Korea-based technology firm Naver from 2005 to 2009.

Kang said Chae would be the right fit for the president's push for cultural content market expansion "based on his show of expertise and originality in the private sector." Nol Company was formed from the merger of Yanolja Platform and Interpark Triple in late December.

Kim, 59, is currently a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.

Kang said Kim is expected to "take a housing policy stance from the standpoint of ordinary people, not of experts or bureaucrats." Kang added that Kim would deliver on President Lee's promise of zero tolerance against speculative housing purchases to prevent the housing market from overheating.

Before Friday, the two positions were the only ones left in the 20-member Cabinet awaiting presidential nominations.

Confirmation hearings are scheduled next week, starting on Monday. Incumbent Agricultural Minister Song Mi-ryung, who was picked by Lee to continue working for his administration, will be an exception.

Among Lee's 19 ministerial nominee picks are eight Democratic Party lawmakers, a former lawmaker of the conservative rival party and four entrepreneurs.

So far, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who is also a four-term Democratic Party lawmaker, is the only member of the Cabinet who gained parliamentary approval.

Asked about the incumbent lawmakers of the ruling party accounting for nearly half of the Cabinet, Kang said the administration lacked time for vetting processes because no transition period was granted to Lee. The president was inaugurated immediately after his election victory in June due to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster in April.

Chae is Lee's third presidential nomination with experience at South Korea's internet technology giant Naver, alongside Han Seong-sook, nominee for minister of startups and SMEs, and Ha Jung-woo, senior presidential secretary for AI future planning.