(profile) Macroeconomic expert tapped as new finance minister

Lee Hyoung-il, appointed as South Korea's new finance minister on Sunday, is a macroeconomic expert renowned for his extensive experience in financial and economic policy. Born in 1967, Lee commenced his civil service journey after successfully completing the national civil service exam in 1992, while concurrently pursuing economics at Seoul National University.

Throughout his career, he honed his macroeconomic skills during his tenure at the Economic Policy Bureau of the finance ministry, where he held various key positions. Among these roles, he served as deputy finance minister, presidential secretary for economic policy under the Moon Jae-in government, and eventually became head of Statistics Korea under the succeeding Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

As the first vice finance minister, Lee oversaw the operation of the fuel price cap system, which aimed to stabilize domestic fuel prices amidst supply chain disruptions triggered by the conflict between the United States and Iran in the Middle East. Colleagues describe Lee as a gentle and reasonable official, having been recognized as a role model three times in surveys conducted among finance ministry officials.