President Lee Jae-myung has entered final deliberations over three candidates to succeed Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, including Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho, Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Seong-sook, and Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, sources said.
According to Yonhap News on Tuesday, a ruling party official said Kim is expected to tender his resignation and step down before long, adding that vetting is underway with these three figures in mind as candidates to lead the cabinet as his successor.
Justice Minister Jung is regarded as a core member of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction. He has walked a long political path alongside the president, and since the launch of the administration he has shouldered the heavy responsibility of spearheading prosecutorial reform from the front lines as head of the Justice Ministry.
Minister Han brings the credentials of a former CEO of Naver. She is credited with building trust by leading on the ground the small business and self-employed-focused livelihood policies that the president has prioritized. If she is ultimately selected, she would become the first female prime minister of the current government and the first woman to hold the post since former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.
Chief of Staff Kang is considered one of the closest aides who has served the president at the nearest distance since the launch of the new administration. His strengths include having run the presidential office over the past year without major incidents, as well as his broad experience in diplomacy and the economy gained while serving as the president's special envoy for strategic economic cooperation. Analysts add that he would find it easier to keep pace with the president when Lee pushes ahead with rapid governance.
In particular, with the outcome of the local elections taking shape on the same day, President Lee has entered a phase in which he must comprehensively refine his governing plans for the second year of his term, including decisions on Kim's status. The next prime minister, which will serve as the first button in that process, is reportedly being scrutinized closely as Lee carefully weighs the timing and direction of the replacement.
