(2nd LD) Lee appoints new senior secretaries for communication, civil affairs

(ATTN: UPDATES with vice minister appointment in paras 7-8)

SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) — President Lee Jae Myung has appointed new senior presidential secretaries for communications and civil affairs, along with three other aides, the presidential chief of staff said Sunday.

Seong Ghi-hong, former CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, was appointed presidential secretary for public relations and communication, while Han Chan-sik, a former senior prosecutor, was named presidential secretary for civil affairs, the official said.

Kim Kyoung-ja, former vice chairperson of the country’s biggest umbrella union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was appointed presidential secretary for social affairs.

Former Army commander Kang Gun-jark and Song Ki-ho, a senior official at the National Security Office, were named the first and third deputy national security advisers, respectively.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik described the new presidential secretary for communication, the second person to hold the post under the Lee administration, as a veteran journalist with 30 years of experience who is equipped with a sense of balance and sound judgment.

“He will closely listen to people’s voices and faithfully carry out communication with the public so that people can easily understand the results of government policies,” Kang said.

In addition, Lee appointed Nam Jae-heon, a senior oceans ministry official overseeing Seoul’s envisioned expansion of Arctic shipping routes, as vice minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing.

Nam is the right person to usher in an era of Arctic shipping routes and advance South Korea’s aim to become a strong maritime nation, Kang said.

The reshuffle came as Lee entered the second year of his five-year term after taking office in June last year.