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President Lee appoints ex-IMF executive as second vice minister of finance

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 18:27 Updated: 02 Feb. 2026, 20:04

Huh Chang, the vice minister of finance, left, and Oh Tae-seog, an administrator at the Korea AeroSpace Administration [BLUE HOUSE]

President Lee Jae Myung has appointed a former executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the new second vice minister of finance, Blue House spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters on Monday.

Huh Chang, who had served in various capacities at the finance ministry and as an executive director of the IMF, was named second vice finance minister, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters. The second vice minister of finance is responsible for managing foreign exchange rates and foreign trade.

Oh Tae-seog, the president of the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning, was tapped as the administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration.

Oh, a career bureaucrat, previously served as the first vice minister of science and ICT from 2022 to 2023 and chaired a committee overseeing the launch of the homegrown Nuri space launch vehicle, Kang said.

Appointments for the presidential advisory bodies drew heavily from civic groups and pro-Democratic Party (DP) figures.

Lee appointed Kim Jwa-kwan, a distinguished professor at the Catholic University of Pusan and former co-representative of the Busan citizens’ coalition for river restoration, as chair of the national water management commission — a post that provides Kim with vice prime minister-level authority.

Kim Jwa-kwan, the chair of the national water management commission, left, and Kim Won-joong, the chair of the presidential committee on the Asia culture city of creation [BLUE HOUSE]

He previously served as a member of the national planning committee during the Moon Jae-in administration before going on to co-chair the planning and expert committee for the four rivers investigation and evaluation. During the June 2022 local elections, he also served as the chair of the DP's Busan chapter's nomination committee.

“Kim will coordinate and resolve a range of pending issues, including easing regional conflicts over water use and restoring the four major rivers, in a balanced way,” Kang said.

The Four Major Rivers Project refers to a large-scale river development program launched under the Lee Myung-bak administration and involves dredging and construction along the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers. Calls to restore the four major rivers emerged under later administrations, which argued that the project damaged ecosystems and sought to reverse or mitigate its environmental impact.

Lee also appointed folk singer Kim Won-joong as chair of the presidential committee on the Asia culture city of creation, which grants him minister-level authority/ Kim Won-joong gained public recognition with the song “Rock Island” (1984), which references the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980. He joined the list of artists who supported President Lee during the 2022 presidential campaign.

BY OH HYUN-SEOK, YONHAP [[email protected]]