By: Ju-min Park and Jihoon Lee
SEOUL, June 29 (Reuters)
As the 14th president of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung assumed his position on 4 June 2025. This came after his win during the 2025 presidential election. Lee Jae Myung made some interesting appointments in the cabinet. All it seems to fall in line with his long-term plans and strategies for the future of South Korea. Kim Min-seok has been appointed as Prime Minister.
An driven call to action
South Korea needs to take measures to support its economy in the short term as it continues tariff talks with the U.S., its likely new finance minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Sunday after being nominated for the role by President Lee Jae Myung. Koo, a former vice finance minister, still needs to go through parliament hearings before being confirmed as finance minister.
Other ministerial appointments were also announced Sunday by the president’s office. “We need to take pre-emptive measures and prepare for situations such as the current tariff negotiations with the United States,” Koo told a press conference. “Through this process, we plan to actively and proactively respond to the difficulties that the South Korean economy faces in the short term,” he said.
Trade envoy Yeo Han-Koo returned home on Sunday after holding the first high-level tariff talks with his U.S. counterparts since President Lee took office on June 4. South Korea has sought exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump’s high tariffs on imports of automobiles and steel products, as well as a 25% “reciprocal” levy on the U.S. ally that is currently paused for negotiations.
A strategic game of chess
Yeo said his trip helped build mutual trust to expedite the negotiations and make friends in Washington. Asked if the July 8 deadline for negotiations over tariffs was still valid, Yeo said every possibility was left open. “In fact, the situation in the United States is very fluid. So, for now, I can say that all possibilities are open,” he told reporters. The U.S. has demanded that South Korea improve non-tariff barriers particularly in the agricultural and digital services sectors, according to South Korean officials.
New finance minister Koo is widely known as a policy expert, having served in different positions across government and has authored books on South Korea’s innovation and growth, most recently on artificial intelligence. South Korea itself is showing rapid advancement in the field of AI. This comes about through regulatory frameworks, comprehensive strategies as well as significant investments. The plan is to have them as a global AI leader by 2027. Kim Jung-kwan was nominated to be industry minister.
Coming alive with energy
Kim fits the role to realize President Lee’s “energy mix philosophy”, Kang said, referring to the new president’s aim to balance nuclear power and renewable energy. The former head of South Korea’s disease control agency, Jeong Eun-kyeong, was nominated for health minister. She was highly praised for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020.
Cabinet nominations in South Korea must be vetted by hearings in parliament. But presidents may appoint their nominees without parliament’s approval, and Lee’s Democratic Party has a majority in parliament. President Lee Jay-myung has a lot resting on his shoulders. There are countless overlapping international and domestic challenges that he needs to address during his term in office.
There’s been little resistance to his leadership, although this faces of a bit with the political and social division found within the Korean society. Under the President’s leadership, there is an expectation that the country may be in for quite some interesting international and domestic policy changes. So far, President Lee Jay-myung has taken almost everything in his stride. A testament to this is the fact that he was sworn into office less than 24 hours after the electoral win.