President Lee Approves Appointments of Park Honggeun as Budget Minister and Hwang Jongwoo as Oceans Minister

Lee Appoints Ministers Just 1-2 Days After Confirmation Reports Adopted

President Lee Jae-myung approved the appointment proposals for Park Hong-keun as Minister of Planning and Budget and Hwang Jong-woo as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries on the 24th.

Kang Yoo-jung, spokesperson for the Blue House, announced in a written briefing that President Lee has approved the appointment of the two candidates, whose confirmation reports were adopted through bipartisan agreement in the National Assembly.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 24th. March 24, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier on the same day, the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee held a general meeting and, with bipartisan consensus, adopted the confirmation report for candidate Park just one day after his hearing. With Park's appointment, the Ministry of Planning and Budget has welcomed its inaugural chief approximately 80 days after its establishment. President Lee had initially nominated former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon, who is affiliated with the People Power Party, as minister, but withdrew the nomination after 28 days due to allegations concerning her integrity.

For Minister Hwang, the confirmation report was adopted by the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on the same day as his hearing, March 23. Given the prolonged vacancy following former Minister Jeon Jae-soo's resignation, there was consensus that the appointment needed to be expedited.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.