The economic policy lineup of the Lee Jae-myung administration, with Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom at its apex, is growing more entrenched. Conservative opposition parties and even the Rebuilding Korea Party had called for Kim to be held accountable over housing and stock market policies, but Kim kept his post — and now Lee Hyoung-il, first vice minister of finance and economy and a longtime working partner, has been tapped as nominee for deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy. Expectations for the policy momentum of the economic team built around Kim are running alongside concerns about the concentration of authority.
According to government and presidential office officials on the 31st, Lee's nomination is expected to shift the center of gravity for major economic policy — from fiscal and macroeconomic affairs to finance, industry and trade — further toward the Presidential Policy Office. Some see this as a way to speed up decision-making and improve consistency, while others say that if results do not follow, Kim, who has effectively directed economic policy across the board, will inevitably face calls to take responsibility.
Kim, Lee, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won and Minister of Industry and Trade Kim Jung-kwan are all former economic bureaucrats from the old Ministry of Economy and Finance. Kim Yong-beom is the most senior, having passed the 30th civil service examination, followed by Lee Eok-won in the 35th class and Lee Hyoung-il and Kim Jung-kwan in the 36th. All studied economics at Seoul National University, making them departmental juniors of Kim.
Current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance and Economy Minister Koo Yun-cheol is also a Seoul National University economics graduate one year behind Kim and two civil service classes his junior. Lee Hyoung-il, however, is nine years younger than Kim and six classes behind him. Given the weight that Korea's bureaucracy places on age and examination class, the view that the real center of gravity in economic policy will tilt further toward the Presidential Policy Office after the deputy prime minister is replaced carries considerable weight.
Lee was appointed first vice minister of the finance ministry in June last year and served as acting deputy prime minister and finance minister until Koo took office in July. During that period, he drafted the administration's first housing measures, centered on lending restrictions, together with Kim. The two worked so closely — with Kim frequently coordinating directly with Lee — that officials said the months-long vacancy in the presidential office's growth economy secretary post was barely felt. "If Lee, whom Kim has known since Kim was a senior official and Lee a junior one, clears his confirmation hearing, we will literally have an 'economic corps' that communicates through eye contact alone," a presidential office official said.
The financial policy line also has long ties to Kim. Lee Eok-won succeeded Kim as first vice minister of the finance ministry under the Moon Jae-in administration. Because Lee took over from Kim, who was known in bureaucratic circles as the "king vice minister" for his forceful drive, the policy continuity between the two drew attention at the time.
Kim Jung-kwan, who oversees industrial and trade policy, is also known to have a particularly close relationship with Kim Yong-beom. The two are from Muan and Jangseong in Jeollanam-do respectively and both attended high school in Gwangju. Their professional trust runs deep enough that after Kim Jung-kwan left public service for the private sector in 2018, Kim Yong-beom asked him to return to government in 2019, when Kim was serving as first vice finance minister. That trust allowed Kim Yong-beom to coordinate the overall framework of last year's tariff negotiations with the United States and inter-ministry strategy from the presidential office, while Kim Jung-kwan took the lead on the front line of talks with Washington.
Officials expect the formation of this "Kim Yong-beom line" to accelerate policy execution in the administration's second phase and strengthen its capacity to handle complex issues spanning housing, finance, industry and trade. Within the presidential office, there is no disagreement that President Lee Jae-myung places a high degree of trust in Kim — the basis for expectations of forceful execution. The problem is that the structure ensures that the more authority is concentrated in Kim, the greater the exposure to blame. Concerns are growing that if policy outcomes fall short of expectations, dissatisfaction over policy failures could bypass individual ministries and go straight to the presidential office and the president. The introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one such case.
Opposition attacks are sharpening. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk said at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly that day that the reshuffle was "a cabinet shake-up that runs against public sentiment, moving in the opposite direction from the will of the people," adding, "Kim Yong-beom, whom the public wants out, was left untouched." Former People Power Party spokesman Yoon Hee-seok said on a radio program, "Has there ever been a policy chief this prominent?" He added, "The problem is that the public knows the name of the policy chief better than that of the chief of staff, and they are asking why this person was not part of the reshuffle."
Concerns about Kim's expanding role are also surfacing within the ruling bloc. A Democratic Party lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area said, "The more the presidential policy chief stands out rather than the ministers, the more the burden falls not just on Kim but on the entire presidential office," advising that "policy announcements, implementation and the accountability that follows should be run through the ministries, while the Presidential Policy Office should focus on coordinating from behind."
