President Lee Jae-myung on the 1st appointed Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party of Korea as special presidential adviser for peace diplomacy.
Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, announced the appointment at a briefing at the Blue House. "Special Adviser Song is a six-term lawmaker who has built broad experience and expertise in diplomacy and unification, including serving as chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee," Sung said. "We expect him to expand the space for national interests and diplomacy from a balanced perspective, drawing on his accumulated legislative experience and diverse networks at home and abroad."
Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party was named special presidential adviser for defense policy. "Special Adviser Kim is a defense policy expert who served as a four-star Army general," Sung said. "Under the banner that strong defense capability is a core pillar of protecting the national interest, he is the right person to add the voice of the people to national security and defense reform tasks."
Asked about the two new special adviser appointments, Sung said, "Successive administrations have operated special advisers in various fields, and there are precedents in past administrations of lawmakers serving as special advisers." He added, "We expect the newly appointed Special Advisers Song and Kim to faithfully carry out their roles in assisting the president's state affairs based on their expertise in their respective fields."
