[Edaily Marketin Reporter Hur Jieun ] KoreaZinc(010130)It has been confirmed that KoreaZinc has appointed Mr. Lee Jin-seok, who served as Deputy Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, as a management advisor. Mr. Lee, a former economics editor-in-chief at the Chosun Ilbo, is reportedly set to handle government relations at KoreaZinc.

According to industry sources on the 29th, Mr. Lee received a “employment approved” decision regarding his position at KoreaZinc in the September employment review for retired public officials, which was released by the Government Ethics Committee on the 23rd. Mr. Lee is scheduled to begin working at KoreaZinc this coming October.

The Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for coordinating public relations between the spokespersons of various ministries and the Office of the President. Lee, who previously served as the head of the Chosun Ilbo’s economics desk, was appointed Deputy Minister for Public Relations at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in February 2024.

At that time, Kang Hoon, a former editorial writer for the Chosun Ilbo, was serving as Secretary for Policy and Public Relations at the Office of the President, and the two were reported to have been close friends since their days as journalists. After leaving the Office of the President in August of the same year, former Secretary Kang applied for the position of President of the Korea Tourism Organization but voluntarily withdrew his application three months later amid controversy over a “parachute appointment.”

It is understood that former Deputy Minister Lee had not engaged in any significant official activities since stepping down from public office last September.

Regarding this appointment, industry observers have interpreted it both as an example of a figure with deep ties to the previous administration securing a position in the new government and as a move to diversify channels of communication with political and government circles during the transition of power.

Previously, KoreaZinc also recruited former Director No Jin-man, who came from the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment, as an executive in charge of government relations. With the addition of former Deputy Minister Lee, it appears that the recruitment of government alumni is continuing. Former Director No, who retired in August of this year, also received approval to join KoreaZinc on the 23rd of this month.