From left, clockwise: Huh Chang, newly appointed second vice minister of economy and finance; Oh Tae-seog, newly appointed head of the Korea Aerospace Administration; Kim Jwa-kwan, newly appointed chair of the Presidential Water Commission; and singer Kim Won-jung, newly appointed chair of the Presidential Committee for Hub City of Asian Culture. (Cheong Wa Dae/ Combined by The Korea Herald)
From left, clockwise: Huh Chang, newly appointed second vice minister of economy and finance; Oh Tae-seog, newly appointed head of the Korea Aerospace Administration; Kim Jwa-kwan, newly appointed chair of the Presidential Water Commission; and singer Kim Won-jung, newly appointed chair of the Presidential Committee for Hub City of Asian Culture. (Cheong Wa Dae/ Combined by The Korea Herald)

President Lee Jae Myung appointed Oh Tae-seog, a career science bureaucrat with three decades in government, to head the Korea Aerospace Administration, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.

Oh has held two of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s influential posts: first vice minister and chief coordinator for science and technology innovation.

Oh currently heads the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning, the government think tank responsible for vetting major national R&D spending and assessing performance.

“Since joining the then–Ministry of Science and Technology through the civil service examination, he has spent the past 30 years working across the major fields of science and technology policy,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during a press briefing. He described Oh as “a career science and technology administrator.”

During his tenure as first vice minister, Oh served as chair of the Nuri Launch Vehicle Launch Management Committee and successfully led the launch process, Kang explained.

"(Oh) has a strong understanding of space and aerospace technologies and industry, as well as of the organizational structure of the Korea Aerospace Administration," Kang added.

Lee also named Huh Chang, currently chair of the ESG Committee at the Export-Import Bank of Korea, as second vice minister of economy and finance.

“Based on his experience and network across the overall field of international economic affairs, he is the right person to effectively carry out the duties of the second vice minister, who oversees international economic affairs and national treasury management," Kang said of Huh.

"In particular, he is expected to ensure the stable management of exports and exchange rates, while formulating and implementing economic policies that will help elevate the Korean economy to the next level.”

Huh brings extensive experience in international finance and development policy, having served as Korea’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund, deputy minister for international economic affairs, director-general of the Development Finance Bureau, and minister-counselor at Korea’s permanent mission to the OECD.

Lee appointed Kim Jwa-kwan, a distinguished chair professor at Catholic University of Pusan, as chair of the Presidential Water Commission, Cheong Wa Dae said.

“He is an expert in the fields of water resources and the environment and has led environmental activism on the ground for more than 30 years, while also possessing extensive experience providing policy advice to the central government and local governments,” Kang explained. “He will strengthen response capabilities in the era of the climate crisis and will balance and resolve the many pressing challenges, including resolving interregional water conflicts."

Singer Kim Won-joong was named ministerial-level chair of the Presidential Committee for the Asian Cultural Hub City, the body tasked with turning Gwangju into a hub for Asian culture.


dagyumji@heraldcorp.com