VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0262/01 0420714
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110714Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8431
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3821
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 8495
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3957
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2492
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RUACAAA/COMUSKOREA INTEL SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//

UNCLAS SEOUL 000262 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KN KS
SUBJECT: BLUE HOUSE SENIOR SECRETARIES ANNOUNCED 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On February 10, the Presidential Transition 
Committee announced the lineup for the Blue House Senior 
Secretaries.  Notably, GNP lawmaker Park Jae-wan was named 
 
SIPDIS 
Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, and 
Korea University Professor Kim Byung-kook Senior Secretary 
for Foreign Affairs and National Security.  The new lineup 
features academics; six out of the eight earned their 
doctoral degrees from U.S. universities; four are currently 
professors; the two lawmakers named previously were 
professors.  President-elect Lee emphasized their 
professional ability and dedication, but other political 
parties remain critical of the apparent regional and personal 
favoritism.  However, particular criticism of those named has 
been light.  The group is relatively young and will likely 
play a coordinating more than policy-making role. 
Regardless, their strong ties to the U.S. and their proximity 
to the President mean that most of President Lee's foreign 
policies will likely be made with a good understanding of the 
U.S.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------- 
OVERVIEW 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) President-elect Lee Myung-bak named seven senior 
presidential secretaries and the spokesman for the 
Presidential Office, Cheong Wa Dae.  As part of Lee 
Myung-bak's plan to streamline government, the senior 
secretaries have assistant minister rather than minister 
 
SIPDIS 
status as in the past.  Among the seven named, five have 
degrees from Ivy League universities, including Harvard, 
Pennsylvania, and Cornell, while the other two are graduates 
of Vanderbilt and Michigan.  In Roh Moo-hyun's first Blue 
House, among the ten senior secretaries, two received PhDs 
from U.S. schools. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Except for the senior secretary for civil affairs, 
former Chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, Lee 
excluded bureaucrats from the list.  He favored graduates of 
his alma mater, as two of the seven are graduates of Korea 
University and one is currently a professor there.  Two are 
in their 60s, two in the early 50s and four in their late 
40s.  Given their relative youth and lower bureaucratic 
status, the Blue House Secretariat will subordinate 
themselves to cabinet ministers, according to contacts in the 
Transition Team. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHIEF: KIM, BYUNG-KOOK 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Korea University Professor Kim Byung-kook was chosen 
as the Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign and Security 
Affairs (under Roh this was the position occupied by the 
National Security Advisor and had minister-level status). 
Kim, 49, comes from an elite background; his extended family 
owns Dong-a Ilbo group, which includes Korea University.  He 
attended Phillips Andover Academy, and earned his B.A. in 
economics, and M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from 
Harvard.  Since 1990, he has taught political science at 
Korea University.  He founded and has served as Director of 
the East Asia Institute (EAI) since 2002, a non-governmental, 
non-profit entity dedicated to studying the dynamics of East 
Asia in a complex transformational era.  Kim apparently 
reflects President-elect Lee's strong emphasis on solidifying 
the U.S.-ROK Alliance, but some have criticized Kim's lack of 
practical experience. 
 
------------------------------ 
POLITICAL CHIEF: PARK, JAE-WAN 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. Rep. Park (also Bahk) Jae-wan of the Grand National Party 
(GNP) was named Senior Secretary for Political Affairs.  Born 
in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1955, Bahk has served 
as a GNP proportional representative since 2004 after 
teaching political science at Sungkyunkwan University.  He 
earned his BA in economics at Seoul National University and 
PhD in public policy at Harvard.  With a varied background in 
the Cabinet, the Blue House, academia, and the political 
circle, Park's main task is to bridge the gap between the 
presidential office, the Cabinet, and political parties. 
 
-------- 
THE REST 
-------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kim Choong-soo, president of Hallym University, was 
named Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs.  Kim, 60, worked 
as president of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), a 
state-funded think tank, between 2002 and 2005 after serving 
as a presidential aide for economic policy in 1993.  He was a 
key player in Korea's accession to the OECD in 1996.  Park 
Mee-sok, a professor at Sookmyung Women's University, was 
named Senior Secretary for Social Affairs.  Park, 49, has 
long been acquainted with the President-elect, including her 
service as an aide when Lee was Seoul Mayor.  She also 
attends the same church as Lee. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Kwak Seung-jun, 47, an economics professor at Korea 
University, was named Senior Secretary for National Policy 
Planning.  Kwak was born in North Gyeongsang Province and 
graduated from the economics department of Korea University, 
has been serving Lee since his days as Mayor of Seoul.  He 
has been one of the key architects of many of the 
President-elect's policy pledges, including the grand canal 
project.  Kwak was widely acknowledged during the campaign as 
the professor with the most access to Lee Myung-bak. 
Proportional GNP representative Lee Joo-ho was designated as 
Senior Secretary for Education, Science and Cultural Affairs. 
 Born in Daegu in 1961, Rep. Lee is considered an education 
expert though his recent proposals to revamp the English 
education system have come under fire. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Lee Jong-chan, former Chief of the Seoul High 
Prosecutors' Office, was appointed as Senior Secretary for 
Civil Affairs.  The 61-year-old lawyer was born in Goseong, 
South Gyeongsang Province, and has assisted the 
President-elect in defending against the BBK scandal. 
Finally, Lee Dong-kwan, 50, spokesman of the Presidential 
Transition Committee, was named spokesman of Cheong Wa Dae. 
The spokesman, who served as an editorial writer for the 
Dong-A Ilbo newspaper before joining the Lee camp last year, 
will double as Senior Secretary for Public Relations. 
VERSHBOW