President Park Geun-hye on Sunday named Yoon Doo-hyun, president of YTN Plus, a subsidiary of cable news network YTN, as the new presidential senior press secretary.

Yoon, a former journalist and managing editor of the YTN newsroom, replaces Lee Jung-hyun, who offered to step down on Saturday.

“President Park Geun-hye has named Yoon Doo-hyun, president of YTN Plus, as successor to senior secretary Lee Jung-hyun,” said presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook.

“Yoon has demonstrated his balanced thinking and sharp analysis while serving as political desk editor and managing editor at YTN.

“He was appointed because he was believed as a right person to be a communicator in explaining government reform policies, and seeking understanding and cooperation from the people,” he said.

Former press secretary Lee offered to resign on Saturday amid growing speculation that he would run for a by-election in July. Lee will hold a news conference to announce his plan next week, according to reports.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)