Cho Won-dong, Economic affairs

Cho Won-dong, president of the state-run Korea Institute of Public Finance, has been chosen as the senior secretary for economic affairs for the incoming government of President-elect Park Geun-hye.

Park’s transition team said Tuesday that Cho previously served as an assistant deputy minister for the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and also worked for the Prime Minister’s Office.

The 59-year-old appointee graduated from Seoul National University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and received his Ph.D. in economics from Oxford University.

His post will include advising Park on key economic policies and coordinating issues with the Finance Ministry.

An expert in macroeconomics, Cho had been mentioned in the press as a potential candidate for the post of deputy prime minister, whose responsibility went to Hyun Oh-seok, the incoming government’s finance minister.

(hkp@heraldcorp.com)

Choi Sung-jae, Labor and welfare

Choi Sung-jae, 67, is one of the nation’s top scholars on welfare administration and policies for senior citizens and the one who drafted President-elect Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledge for “welfare services tailored for all age groups.”

The professor emeritus of social welfare at Seoul National University has supported Park since 2011 when she proposed a revision of welfare law at the National Assembly. He joined Park’s presidential campaign and was named to head the subcommittee on employment and welfare on the presidential transition committee late last year.

Choi has been building his academic career particularly on welfare policies for the elderly and is likely to play a crucial role in the incoming government to expand the social safety net for senior citizens, experts said.

A native of Seoul, Choi graduated from the department of social services at SNU in 1970 and received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in the United States. He started teaching at SNU in 1986 but retired last year. He served various posts including at the Korean Gerontological Society, the Korean Academy of Social Welfare and the presidential committee on aging society.

(christory@heraldcorp.com)

Mo Chul-min, Education and culture

Mo, 55, a former vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, is an expert in cultural administration with more than 20 years of experience.

A native of Seoul, Mo began his career as a government official after passing the administrative exam in 1981.

From 1994, he served in various positions in the Culture Ministry before moving to France to serve as the head of the Korean Culture Center in Paris from 2004-2007.

The bureaucrat also worked as a vice culture minister from August 2010 to November 2011 and the director of the National Library of Korea between May 2009 and August 2010.

Mo currently serves as president of Seoul Arts Center and has recently led the subcommittee on women and culture in Park’s transition committee.

He graduated from Sungkyunkwan University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and received a master’s degree in policy studies from Seoul National University.

(596story@heraldcorp.com)

Choi Sung-jae, Labor and welfare

Choi Sung-jae, 67, is one of the nation’s top scholars on welfare administration and policies for senior citizens and the one who drafted President-elect Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledge for “welfare services tailored for all age groups.”

The professor emeritus of social welfare at Seoul National University has supported Park since 2011 when she proposed a revision of welfare law at the National Assembly. He joined Park’s presidential campaign and was named to head the subcommittee on employment and welfare on the presidential transition committee late last year.

Choi has been building his academic career particularly on welfare policies for the elderly and is likely to play a crucial role in the incoming government to expand the social safety net for senior citizens, experts said.

A native of Seoul, Choi graduated from the department of social services at SNU in 1970 and received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in the United States. He started teaching at SNU in 1986 but retired last year. He served various posts including at the Korean Gerontological Society, the Korean Academy of Social Welfare and the presidential committee on aging society.

(christory@heraldcorp.com)