Former lawmaker Woo Sang-ho appointed as chief of political affairs… "A suitable person for communication between the ruling and opposition parties"

President Lee Jae-myung made a reshuffle of his presidential staff on the 8th, appointing new chief secretaries for political affairs, civil affairs, and public relations.

On this day, the presidential office announced that former emergency response committee chair Woo Sang-ho was appointed as the chief of political affairs, former Daegu District Prosecutor Oh Kwang-soo as the chief of civil affairs, and former JTBC CEO Lee Gyu-yeon as the chief of public relations.

Appointed as the chief of political affairs, Woo Sang-ho is a four-term lawmaker who has served as spokesperson and floor leader for the Democratic Party of Korea. He also acted as co-chair of the campaign committee during the recent presidential election. Maintaining a wide network of personal connections regardless of political affiliation, he is evaluated as the right person to lead the political line in terms of communication skills and amiability.

Woo is politically more experienced than Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. In this regard, a ruling party official explained, "During the Moon Jae-in administration, former lawmaker Jeon Byung-hun held the position of chief of political affairs, being a political senior to Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok."

A 'specialist' in civil affairs, Oh Kwang-soo… A fellow graduate of the training institute with President Lee Jae-myung

Oh Kwang-soo, former Daegu District Prosecutor, has been appointed as the chief of civil affairs. He hails from Namwon, North Jeolla Province, graduated from Jeonju High School and Sungkyunkwan University's law school, and is a fellow graduate of the 18th Judicial Research and Training Institute with President Lee Jae-myung.

Oh has served as the chief prosecutor of the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office, Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, and head of the Criminal Prevention Policy Division at the Ministry of Justice before leaving the prosecution in 2015.

Most of his time in the prosecution was spent in special investigations, where he gained recognition as a 'specialist investigator' by investigating corruption cases involving Kim Hyun-chul, the second son of former President Kim Young-sam. In a trend of personnel choices that draw a line between the political prosecution and the administration, it has been evaluated that his connection with President Lee from their training institute days has led to trust in the civil affairs line.

Lee Gyu-yeon, former CEO of JTBC, appointed as chief of public relations… Rich experience in media and public relations

The chief of public relations is Lee Gyu-yeon, a former JTBC CEO who has been tapped for the role. He has served as a social editor at the JoongAng Ilbo, news director and investigation planning director at JTBC, and is currently a professor at the Journalism Graduate School of Semyung University.

During the presidential election, he participated as a public relations advisor for the Democratic Party's campaign committee and coordinated the messaging strategy of Lee Jae-myung's camp as the head of the social integration strategy division.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik met with reporters on the same day and said, "I understand that there are some concerns about the appointment of Chief Oh Kwang-soo," but emphasized the legitimacy of the appointment by stating, "President Lee is the biggest victim of the political prosecution, and judicial reform is something done through law."

He added, "The presidential office has also confirmed Chief Oh's commitment to reform. We will eliminate unnecessary concerns."

Image source: Woo Sang-ho, new chief of political affairs / News1, Oh Kwang-soo, new chief of civil affairs / News1, Lee Gyu-yeon, new chief of public relations / JTBC