South Korean President Nominates First Female Prime Minister

President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Han Seong-sook, the incumbent minister of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as the next prime minister, a senior presidential official said on Sunday. If confirmed by the National Assembly, Han would become the Lee government’s first female prime minister and South Korea’s second female prime minister, after Han Myeong-sook, who served in the post from 2006 to 2007. Current Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who served as the Lee administration’s first prime minister, is stepping down, reportedly to run for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) at its convention in August or September, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Han, a former chief executive of online portal giant Naver who spent most of her career in the internet industry, took up her current post upon the inauguration of the Lee administration. Announcing the nomination, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik described Han as someone capable of “flawlessly attaining the epochal transition to artificial intelligence and spearheading South Korea’s growth for all,” based on her experience. Referring to outgoing Prime Minister Kim, Kang expressed the presidential office’s gratitude for his service, saying the government’s policy results could rightly be attributed to Kim’s performance. The reshuffle comes as the Lee administration marks its first year in office following the president’s inauguration on June 4 last year. On Monday, Lee is scheduled to hold a press conference marking his first year in office and unveil his policy vision for the second year of his five-year term. Earlier reports said the Prime Minister’s Office has formed a team in advance to help the prime minister nominee prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing. — IANS