South Korea's First Vice Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il was nominated Sunday as deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy, placing a veteran technocrat with deep experience in macroeconomic policy at the helm of the country's economy.

Born in Daegu in 1971, Lee studied economics at Seoul National University and went on to earn a doctorate from Texas A&M University. He entered public service in 1993 after passing the national civil service examination.

During his career at the Finance Ministry, Lee held a number of key positions, including director of the Economic Analysis Division and director general of the Economic Policy Bureau. He also served in the presidential office under both the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations, including as secretary for economic policy.

In 2023, Lee was appointed commissioner of Statistics Korea, and he later became first vice finance minister. Following a government reorganization, he has continued in the role of first vice minister at the newly established Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The nomination is part of a broader Cabinet reshuffle carried out Sunday by President Lee Jae Myung, who named new ministers to six key portfolios and overhauled his administration's leadership on artificial intelligence and megaprojects. The finance minister post in South Korea is traditionally combined with the deputy prime minister title, giving its holder a coordinating role over economic policy across the government, and the creation of the Ministry of Finance and Economy comes as the administration restructures its economic policymaking apparatus.

Source: Korea Herald Business