Lee taps SME chief as prime minister to lead Korea's AI transformation

President Lee Jae Myung nominated Han Seong-sook, minister of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, as his next prime minister to help Korea's AI transformation and to aid in the achievement of balanced regional growth, the Blue House announced Sunday.

If confirmed by the National Assembly, Han, a former Naver CEO, would become the Lee administration's first woman prime minister. She will also become Korea's second female prime minister in two decades since Han Myeong-sook, who served in the post from 2006 to 2007 under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun government.

"Based on her experience as the head of an IT company and as minister of SMEs and startups, we expect her to be the right person to flawlessly complete the great AI transformation, a task of our times, and to lead the growth of the entire country and not just a select few," Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, said in a press briefing announcing Han Seong-sook's nomination at the Blue House in central Seoul.

The latest appointment comes as Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is stepping down, reportedly to run for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) at the DP convention in August.

Kang described Han Seong-sook as an "inspirational leader who rose from an ordinary office worker to head a leading digital company" who "possesses both the practicality and innovative spirit of the private sector and understands the necessity of our society's AI transformation better than anyone."

He said if Han's "innovative spirit and experience as startups minister is combined with the opportunity to serve as prime minister, it will be possible to transform the growth of the Korean economy — driven by the semiconductor boom and export growth — into growth for all citizens, including SMEs, small business owners and local commercial districts."

Han Seong-sook, a Gyeonggi native, began her career as a reporter at a local computer journal after graduating from Sookmyung Women's University with a degree in English language and literature in 1989.

In 1997, Han became a founding member of Empas, a local web search engine and web portal. In 2007, she moved to NHN, a predecessor of online portal giant Naver, where she played a leading role in transforming the company, which had previously focused on search services, into a top content and commerce platform.

In 2017, Han was appointed as CEO of Naver, serving as the first female leader of Korea's largest IT company until 2022.

In June 2025, Lee tapped Han as his first minister of SMEs and startups, where she earned the president's deep trust through policies such as the signature "startup for all" initiative, a national policy aimed at transforming Korea into a country where entrepreneurship is accessible to everyone.

She has also pushed policies to build regional startup city hubs centered around Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju and Ulsan, while providing full support for the entire startup cycle, from initial creation to technology development, investment and market access.

Han's appointment as SME minister gained national attention because it was the first time a woman entrepreneur was nominated for a post usually held by lawmakers or bureaucrats. Her predecessor, Oh Young-ju was also a woman, coming from a career diplomat background.

President Lee has publicly expressed his trust in Han in public meetings and also over social media. When Han posted that 62,994 people had applied for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Startup for All" initiative last month, Lee shared the post on X and wrote, "Thanks to you, the path to becoming a true startup-centered nation is opening," nodding to her "great achievements."

SME exports reached an all-time high of $118.6 billion worth of products last year, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier.

Han will have to undergo a formal parliamentary confirmation hearing process to be formally approved.

Prime Minister Kim, whose return to Yeouido is being discussed ahead of the DP national convention in August, said Sunday at a forum in Gwangju that there are mixed evaluations of the results of the June 3 local elections, stressing, "Now is the time to be vigilant again and innovate."

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) criticized Lee’s nomination of Han as the new prime minister candidate.

“Now is not the time to replace the prime minister, but to first uncover the truth behind the ballot paper shortage crisis,” PPP chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon said in a statement Sunday, referring to the protests prompted by ballot shortages at some polling stations in Seoul during the location elections last Wednesday.  

“Currently, public outrage and suspicion in Korea has peaked due to the unprecedented ballot paper shortage crisis,” she said, calling it “a grave situation” where people’s voting rights have been “infringed upon by administrative negligence.”

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]