[Edaily Kim Sang-yoon Reporter Hwang Byung-seo] Approval ratings have fallen to the 30% range, and criticism of “policy incompetence” surrounding real estate, asset markets, and the criminal justice system has intensified. It had become difficult to simply fill the vacancies at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups with new appointments. This is the backdrop against which President Lee Jae-myung ultimately opted for a cabinet reshuffle of moderate-to-large scale, replacing the ministers of six ministries at once.
This cabinet reshuffle can be summarized by the acronym “N.E.W.”—representing “New Generation,” “Execution,” and “Wider Coalition.” The administration has refreshed the cabinet’s image by appointing young politicians and promoted current bureaucrats from vice minister to minister to accelerate policy implementation. It has also sought to rebuild unity among progressive supporters by forming a broader ruling coalition that includes figures from the Basic Income Party and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party in the administration.
A high-ranking Blue House official explained that the purpose of this cabinet reshuffle is “to tie our shoelaces again and run hard.” Rather than making a complete overhaul of the government’s direction, the aim is to replace officials with “players” who can run faster and stronger to deliver tangible results that the public can feel.

◇N…First Minister Born in the 1990s to Change the Face of the Cabinet
The average age of the ministerial nominees for the six ministries is 50.5 years. Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, was born in 1990; if confirmed after her confirmation hearing, she will become the first minister born in the 1990s. Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, was born in 1985 and is 41 years old.
This is not merely a reshuffle aimed at lowering the average age. Politicians in their 30s and 40s have been appointed to fields where policy changes are rapid and the voices of those directly affected are crucial—such as digital sex crimes, work-life balance, startups, and small business owners. It is an attempt to bring a youthful perspective not only to the cabinet’s age profile but also to its policy direction.
The AI team has also been reorganized, centering on those born in the 1970s. Ha Jeong-woo, former Senior Secretary for AI and Future Planning at the Presidential Office, has been moved to the position of Vice Chair of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, and Rep. Lee Hae-min of the Jooguk Innovation Party has been nominated as the new Senior Secretary for AI. Lee Won-ju, Director General of the Energy Transition Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment, will serve as the tentatively named Mega-Project Advisor. This forms a three-pronged leadership structure: Vice Chair Ha will oversee national AI strategy and the integration of industry, academia, and research institutes; Senior Secretary Lee will handle cross-ministerial coordination; and Advisor Lee will be responsible for the execution of mega-projects such as semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers. However, there are concerns that if duties and authorities are not clearly delineated, efforts to strengthen the control tower could instead lead to a more complex chain of command.
◇E…‘Action-Oriented Vice Ministers’ Promoted to Replace Koo Yoon-cheol and Kim Yoon-deok
The most striking aspect of this cabinet reshuffle is the simultaneous replacement of officials in the economy and housing sectors. While the government touted high growth rates, public attention remained fixed on inflation, home prices, housing costs, and the asset market. Criticism has grown that the gap between macroeconomic indicators and the public’s perception of the economy led to a decline in approval ratings.
The Blue House drew a clear line, stating that these were not disciplinary personnel changes. Kang Hoon-sik, Chief of Staff to the President, said, “We did not select the new ministers based on an evaluation of their predecessors.” However, given that Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Koo Yoon-cheol and Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Kim Yoon-deok—both of whom faced accusations of responsibility for the real estate crisis—were replaced simultaneously, it is difficult to avoid the interpretation that this amounts to a de facto overhaul of the economic and housing portfolios.
The successors named are Lee Hyung-il, First Vice Minister of Finance and Economy, and Hong Ji-seon, Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Rather than selecting external figures to devise new policies, the administration chose practitioners who are well-versed in existing policies and can be deployed immediately to the field. Instead of redesigning the policy framework, the administration has replaced the players with ones who can perform more effectively within that existing framework. Nominee Lee is an “economic policy expert” who spearheaded the introduction of a maximum oil price cap during the period of high oil prices stemming from the Middle East. His first task is to link economic growth to relief in income and living expenses. Nominee Hong oversaw everything from the design to the implementation of housing policies during her tenure as Director of the Urban Housing Bureau in Gyeonggi Province. She must demonstrate the government’s “early, large-scale supply” initiative through actual permits and groundbreaking ceremonies in Seoul and the greater Seoul area.
The People Power Party criticized the promotion of the incumbent vice minister, arguing it was, in fact, “a declaration that the government will not change its economic and real estate policy direction.” They also took issue with the fact that Nominee Hong participated in the design of the “Basic Housing” policy during President Lee’s tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province. From the opposition’s perspective, the policy continuity emphasized by the Blue House amounts to a repetition of failed policies.
Kim Seung-won, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and former judge who serves as secretary of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, was appointed to the Ministry of Justice. The mandate is to stabilize the new criminal justice system ahead of the launch of the Public Prosecution Service and the Major Crimes Investigation Agency this October, and to alleviate public anxiety stemming from the abolition of supplementary investigative powers. However, the appointment has been mired in controversy over being a “bulletproof appointment” from the very start. The People Power Party characterized this appointment as a “declaration of a full-scale offensive to have the indictment against President Lee dismissed,” noting that nominee Kim served as co-chair of a parliamentary group pushing for the dismissal of the indictment against President Lee and spearheaded efforts to abolish the crime of breach of trust and the supplementary investigative powers. The conflict of interest between stabilizing the new system and defending the president against legal risks is expected to be the main point of contention during the confirmation hearing.
For the Ministry of National Defense, former Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command Kang Shin-cheol was selected. He is a hands-on candidate with a four-star general’s background who is expected to manage the ROK-U.S. alliance while pushing forward with defense reforms, such as the integration of military academies. The Blue House stated that nominee Kang was not involved in the December 3 state of emergency.
◇W…Broader Outreach, but a Shift to the Left
While this round of appointments reached beyond the Democratic Party’s ranks, theoverall directionleaned to the left. Representative Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party was nominated as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and Representative Lee Hae-min of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party was brought in as a Senior Secretary to the President. Rather than a unifying cabinet that encompasses even the People Power Party, it resembles a broad pro-government coalition that brings together progressive-leaning opposition parties.
In particular, the selection of nominee Yong symbolizes the shift to the left in this cabinet reshuffle. It is a strategic move to rally disaffected progressive supporters by appointing the first ministerial nominee from an opposition party and to secure allies in the National Assembly to push for reform legislation. It also opens the possibility of an experiment with a coalition cabinet in the future.
The appointment of former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kyung-soo as the President’s Special Advisor for Political Affairs follows the same trend. By placing a prominent figure from the pro-Moon Jae-in faction at the forefront of state affairs, the administration aims to bridge the gap between factions within the Democratic Party and the broader ruling bloc, while strengthening communication with the National Assembly and local communities. The People Power Party criticized this move as a “reward appointment” intended to appease the pro-Moon camp.