S. Korean president names 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff

Credit: Reuters

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday named a five-term lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party as his new chief of staff.

Yoon told a televised press conference that Chung Jin-suk, the five-term lawmaker, who served as senior secretary for political affairs for former President Lee Myung-bak as well as major posts in the ruling party and the National Assembly, was anticipated to smoothly communicate with the Cabinet, the opposition parties, the media and the civil society.

The nomination came after the People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections on April 10, in which the broader opposition bloc, led by the Democratic Party, won more than three-fifths of 300 parliamentary seats.

To take responsibility for the defeat, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and all the senior presidential secretaries offered to step down except presidential aides in the national security office.