hankyoreh

By Ahn Chang-hyun, Staff Writer

On Sunday, President Lee Myung-bak created the position of Overseas Strategy Planner within the office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security in Cheong Wa Dae (South Korea’s presidential office or Blue House). 45-year-old Kim Tae-hyo was named to the post.

Cheong Wa Dae said that the decision to reorganize it had been made on January 13, stating, “Following an increase in the workload in foreign affairs and trade-related areas, including changes in the situation on the Korean Peninsula due to the death of North Korean National Defence Commission chairman Kim Jong-il and free trade agreements, we have enhanced aid provided to the president.”

The position of planner ranks between a senior secretary and a secretary, and is placed, like a senior secretarial position, on the vice-ministerial level. As a result, it seems the reshuffling took place in order to promote the newly-appointed planner, Kim. Kim is a key advisor to the president, having led North Korea policy as a secretary for overseas strategy since the 2007 launch of the Lee Myung-bak government.

Given that Kim is a figure who has led hard-line policies toward North Korea, his promotion is being interpreted in a variety of ways. Cheong Wa Dae has warned against reading it as an indication that the government will now take a harder line toward the North. “This was a simple promotional reorganization that took place in consideration of facts including that Secretary Kim has dealt with various diplomatic matters easily, including the Korea-US FTA and has worked as a secretary from the early days of the administration,” said one high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official.

Some in and outside Cheong Wa Dae however, interpret the reorganization as an attempt to regain balance in North Korea policy by placing Kim, an “advocate of principle in North Korea policy,” in an influential position while unification minister Yu Woo-ik, appointed last August, is espousing a friendlier approach to the North. On the other hand, some are criticizing the reorganization as evidence, along with President Lee’s New Year’s address, that the current government is going back and forth between soft and hard-line stances.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]