President Yoon Suk Yeol replaced six ministers on Monday, in an apparent move to set free current Cabinet members seeking to run in the April general elections and to seek fresh momentum in his leadership.

It was the biggest reshuffle of the Cabinet since Yoon's term began in May 2022, with economic affairs firmly in focus.

Yoon named Choi Sang-mok, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, to succeed Choo Kyung-ho as the new deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

Choi, 60, was the first vice minister of economy and finance during the former conservative Park Geun-hye administration, before he joined Yoon's presidential campaign and later became senior secretary for economic affairs. Presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki told reporters Monday that Choi would be tasked with improving people's livelihoods by addressing inflationary pressures and unemployment.

Kang Jung-ai, the 66-year-old former president of Sookmyung Women's University, was nominated to replace Veterans Minister Park Min-shik. According to the chief of staff, Kang is a renowned scholar in the field of business administration and the descendant of a soldier who fought against North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War and of an independence fighter during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun will be succeeded by Song Mi-ryung, 56, who is the former vice president of the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Yoon's office introduced Song as an expert in the field of rebalancing national economic growth.

Land Minister Won Hee-ryong is to be replaced by Park Sang-woo, 62, who is the former head of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. A career bureaucrat, Park's policy focus will be on mobility innovation, according to Yoon's office.

Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan will be succeeded by the 53-year-old Kang Do-hyung, president of the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology. Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Oh Young-Ju was nominated to take on the role of startups and SMEs minister, a position currently held by Lee Young. Oh was the ambassador to Vietnam before returning home to take the vice-ministerial role in June.

All six nominations require parliamentary approval at confirmation hearings. South Korea has 19 ministerial-level positions.

The major reshuffle came after Yoon's decision last week to reorganize the presidential office and appoint new secretaries, effective Monday.

Yoon replaced all five senior presidential aides except for senior presidential secretary for state affairs coordination Lee Kwan-sup, who was promoted to a newly created role as the chief of staff for policy.

Yoon's new aides, including spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung and Secretary for State Affairs Monitoring Cho Sang-myung, took office Monday. Choi Jae-hyuk, former president of Jeju MBC, began to work as the new public relations planning secretary.

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