South Korea’s Lee replaces 6 ministers, in year-two Cabinet reset

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reshuffled his Cabinet over the weekend, replacing six ministers as he moved to reset his administration for its second year.



The shake-up also filled months-long vacancies in key presidential AI posts and a new presidential aide position dedicated to coordinating the Lee administration’s flagship megaprojects in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.



The Cabinet changes included new leadership at the defence and justice ministries.



For defence minister, Lee nominated Kang Shin-chul, a retired four-star general who has served as South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia since January.



Kang Shin-chul, a graduate of the Korea Military Academy, previously served as deputy commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and as head of the operations directorate at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.



Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Representative Kim Seung-won, a two-term lawmaker and former judge, was nominated as justice minister, filling a post left vacant since Lee on Aug 24 accepted the resignation of Kim’s predecessor, Jung Sung-ho, who cited health concerns.