President Lee Jae-myung promoted Ha Joon-kyung, senior presidential secretary for economic growth, to policy chief at the Blue House on the 1st. Moon Shin-hak, vice minister of trade and industry, was named to succeed Ha as senior secretary for economic growth. The appointments complete the second economic team a month after former policy chief Kim Yong-beom stepped down.
Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, said Ha "demonstrated the ability to turn the Korea discount into a Korea premium as the first senior secretary for economic growth of the Lee Jae-myung government." At a meeting of senior secretaries that day, Ha said he would "do my utmost to ensure that social policy, science and technology policy, and economic policy work in harmony."
Moon, a specialist in the real economy, will oversee three mega-projects and the development of advanced industries. Kwon Dae-young, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and a career financial regulator, was tapped as first vice minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, where he will coordinate economic and financial issues including growth, prices, employment, household debt and financial services for low- and middle-income households. Chung Eui-kyung, head of the land and urban affairs office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, was promoted to second vice minister and will handle regional infrastructure and wide-area transport and logistics networks. Park Jung-hyun, former head of Buyeo County, was appointed chairman of the Presidential Committee on Decentralization.
The foreign and security affairs line was also reinforced. Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party was named special adviser for peace diplomacy, and Rep. Kim Byung-joo, a former four-star Army general, was named special adviser for defense policy. Sung said of the appointments that "now is the time for execution," adding that the administration "will be judged by actions, not words, and take responsibility for results."
The Blue House also said it would proceed with the appointment process for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the new Major Crimes Investigation Agency, and send a confirmation hearing request to the National Assembly. It dismissed as false claims raised by some within the ruling party that Kim was a prosecutor aligned with the former Yoon administration. Jeon Jong-min, a former judge and attorney at the law firm K&C, was named the first deputy head of the agency, which launches on the 2nd, and attorney Choi Jae-min was named head of its Seoul regional office.
Ha Joon-kyung Promoted, With Mandate to Spread Growth Gains to Household Economy
Lee's promotion of Ha to policy chief on the 1st is read as a signal that the administration will broadly maintain its existing economic policy into its second year. At the same time, the appointments of Moon as senior secretary for economic growth and Kwon as first vice minister of finance and economy are seen as strengthening the government's capacity to respond to pressing issues in industry and energy as well as housing and household debt.
The promotion of Chung to second vice minister of land is likewise read as an appointment aimed at accelerating execution of policy priorities such as the three mega-projects and regional infrastructure.
At the senior secretaries' meeting held at the Blue House that day, Lee told Ha that "economic issues are the most fundamental," while adding that "the economy is stabilizing to a degree, and now we must pay particular attention to social policy."
Sung said in a briefing that the appointments were focused on "carrying the momentum of economic growth through to the household economy, putting more weight behind social policy that substantively changes people's lives, and strengthening policy capacity and execution." The aim, he said, is not to stop at improving economic indicators but to ensure that the gains from growth translate into better living conditions for low- and middle-income households.
That amounts to giving Ha a mandate to spread the benefits of growth to household finances. Sung described Ha as "a leading scholar who has combined social issues such as fair growth and reducing polarization with growth strategy."
Ha is seen in particular as having provided the theoretical underpinning for Lee's plan to normalize the housing market. His appointment has prompted expectations that the government will push more consistently for tighter real estate lending rules and heavier property holding taxes. Dissatisfaction with economic policy, including housing, has been cited as a factor in the recent decline in Lee's approval ratings, but keeping the policy line essentially unchanged in this reshuffle is read as a judgment to press ahead by improving execution rather than revising course. The emphasis, in other words, is on raising speed and delivery rather than retreating on policy.
The Blue House had earlier identified housing, jobs and financial services for low- and middle-income households as the three main social policies of its second year, pointing in the same direction. With housing elevated to a core social policy, the likelihood has grown of a more aggressive policy mix that bundles property taxation, lending rules and supply measures together.
Moon Shin-hak: Execution on AI, Energy and New Growth Engines
Kwon Dae-young: A "Fighter" on Household Debt and Financial Rules
Chung Eui-kyung: Speed on Mega-Projects and Infrastructure
Against this backdrop, attention is also turning to the role of Kwon, who is moving to the finance ministry. Kwon is likely to take on a more direct role as a "fighter" on housing, household debt and financial market issues. A career financial regulator, he handled front-line responses during periods of market stress including the Legoland default and troubled real estate project financing.
Kwon was also at the center of real estate lending management in June last year, shortly after Lee took office, when the government capped mortgage loans at 600 million won in the greater Seoul area and other regulated zones as part of household debt measures. That is why his appointment is seen as a sign the government will maintain its approach of curbing demand through lending rules and stabilizing household debt.
Kwon has also taken on the role of problem-solver on financing for housing supply. Having personally run a two-track approach — keeping lending rules in place on the demand side while channeling financing to stalled development sites on the supply side — he is expected at the finance ministry to coordinate growth, prices, employment and financial services for low- and middle-income households alongside housing and household debt.
The appointment of Moon as senior secretary for economic growth is seen as showing the government's intent not to lose sight of industry, energy and growth drivers even within a regulation-centered approach. Moon is a real economy specialist who has held major posts across industry and energy. The Blue House cited his experience leading the development of advanced industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, describing him as the right person to rapidly advance new growth engines including the three mega-projects and to lead a recovery in potential growth.
As vice minister of trade and industry, Moon directly oversaw industrial policy including regional industrial research and development, the AI transition in manufacturing and the build-out of AI factories. Because the three mega-projects — semiconductors, AI data centers and physical AI — require large-scale power, water and industrial infrastructure, Moon's experience handling industry and energy policy together is seen as a strength.
Chung, the new second vice minister of land, will support regionally led growth and the infrastructure build-out for the three mega-projects. Promoting the sitting head of the land and urban affairs office is seen as reflecting a judgment that roads, railways, logistics and livability must be developed together if large-scale industrial investment is to translate into actual regional growth. The move is read as an effort to raise execution capacity by handing the role to an internal official well versed in land and urban policy.
