Rep. Park, ex-Vice FM Cho considered leading FM candidates: sources

Rep. Park Jin of the main opposition People Power Party is being considered for the first foreign minister of the incoming government, along with former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong, sources said Monday.

Park and Cho, who is also a PPP lawmaker, are in the United States this week as part of a delegation sent by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.

If one is nominated foreign minister, the other could be tapped as the next ambassador to the US, according to the sources.

Kim Sung-han, a former vice foreign minister who currently heads the transition team’s subcommittee for foreign affairs, is seen as the likely candidate for Yoon’s first national security adviser, while Kim Chun-sig, a former vice unification minister, is mentioned as a strong candidate for unification minister, overseeing relations with North Korea.

Potential candidates for defense minister include former Army chief of staff Kim Yong-woo and others who helped Yoon’s campaign.

On the economic policy side, PPP Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, a former economic official, has emerged as the top candidate for deputy prime minister for economic affairs, who doubles as the finance minister.

Choo currently heads the transition team’s planning and coordination committee.

The nominations are expected to be announced in the coming days to allow time for the parliamentary confirmation process before the launch of the new administration on May 10.

In his first Cabinet nomination, Yoon named former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as his first prime minister Sunday. (Yonhap)