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President Lee nominates superintendent, human rights lawyer to head education and gender ministries

Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 18:59 Updated: 13 Aug. 2025, 19:30

Choi Kyo-jin, Sejong's superintendent of education, was tapped as education minister, and attorney Won Min-kyong, right, was nominated for gender equality and family minister on Aug. 13 by President Lee Jae Myung. [NEWS1]

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday nominated six minister-level officials for posts including Minister of Education and Minister of Gender Equality and Family.

Choi Kyo-jin, Sejong's superintendent of education, was tapped as education minister, and lawyer Won Min-kyong was nominated as gender equality and family minister.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik announced the appointments during a briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon.

Choi's nomination comes after Lee dropped his previous pick of Lee Jin-sook, who was plagued by allegations of academic plagiarism.

Kang described Choi as “a recognized education expert who has devoted more than 40 years to the field, from middle school teacher to superintendent,” adding that his experience as chair of the National Council of Provincial and Metropolitan Offices of Education and adviser to the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development has given him a deep understanding of regional balance.

Kang said Won “has worked to protect the rights of women and socially vulnerable groups as head of the Korean Women’s Human Rights Committee at Lawyers for a Democratic Society and as a member of the National Assembly’s Gender Equality Advisory Committee” and would help build a “gender-equal Korea, through integration and inclusion, in line with the president’s vision.”

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik speaks during a briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Aug. 13. [NEWS1]

The president also nominated Seoul National University professor Ju Biung-ghi as head of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and former First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon as chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Cha Jeong-in, a professor at Pusan National University Law School, was named chair of the National Education Commission. Kim Ho, a professor at Dankook University’s Department of Food Resource Economics, was nominated as head of the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy.

From left, Choi Kyo-jin, education minister nominee; Won Min-kyong, minister of gender equality and family nominee; Fair Trade Commission head nominee Ju Biung-ghi; Lee Eog-weon, Financial Services Commission chairman nominee; Cha Jeong-in, National Education Commission chair nominee; and Kim Ho, head of the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy nominee. [YONHAP]

Separately, the president’s judicial training classmate Lee Chan-jin, an attorney at Jeil Law Firm, has been nominated as governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. The FSC held an extraordinary meeting Wednesday to recommend him for the role, which the president appoints upon the FSC chairman’s recommendation.

Asked whether the nomination process had changed after the withdrawals of ministerial nominees Lee Jin-sook and Kang Sun-woo, Kang Hoon-sik said vetting had been “further strengthened,” with more thorough checks on academic theses and publications.

“We are gathering diverse opinions through various channels regarding the vetting items and the nomination process,” Kang Hoon-sik said. “We are also actively listening to diverse input regarding the recommendation process.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]