Yoon replaces 6 Cabinet ministers, including finance minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol carried out a partial Cabinet reshuffle Monday, replacing the finance minister with one of his senior secretaries and naming five other people to ministerial posts mainly handling economic affairs.

Choi Sang-mok, who until last week served as Yoon’s senior secretary for economic affairs, was named new finance minister and deputy prime minister, amid speculation the current officeholder Choo Kyung-ho will run for parliament in next April’s general elections.

Kang Jung-ai, former president of Sookmyung Women’s University, was named new minister for veterans affairs, while Song Mi-ryung, former senior researcher at the Korea Rural Economic Institute, was tapped for agriculture minister, presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki said during a press briefing.

Kim also said Park Sang-woo, former chief of state-run housing developer Korea Land & Housing Corp., was named new land minister, while Kang Do-hyung, president of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, was tapped for oceans minister and Second Vice Foreign Minister Oh Young-ju was nominated SMEs minister.

The shakeup was widely expected as a number of Cabinet members, including Choo, Veterans Minister Park Min-shik and Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, are believed to be preparing a bid for the National Assembly, and as Yoon seeks to revamp his administration’s running of state affairs in his upcoming third year in office.

Yoon faces a series of economic and political challenges, including high inflation, nationwide elections for a parliament currently controlled by the main opposition party, and the need to deliver results on his top three reform areas of labor, education and pensions.

Another Cabinet reshuffle is possible in the coming weeks, as Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon is considered a strong contender for parliament, while Korea Communications Commission chief Lee Dong-kwan resigned last week ahead of a parliamentary vote on his impeachment.

The fate of Foreign Minister Park Jin could also hang in the balance as he was at the forefront of South Korea’s unsuccessful campaign to bring the 2030 World Expo to its southeastern city of Busan.

In South Korea, all minister nominees are required to undergo a parliamentary confirmation process, though the consent of the National Assembly is not necessary for appointment.