South Korea’s third acting president is low-key economist at helm amid deep turmoil

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By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s third acting leader in five months, Lee Ju-ho, is an understated labour economist and education bureaucrat thrust into managing high-stakes trade talks with the United States and a country reeling from political knife fights before a crucial election.

Education Minister Lee found himself at the helm of Asia’s fourth-largest economy on Friday following the resignations of both the prime minister and the finance minister, who had served as acting presidents since the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed martial law attempt.

Lee plays the role for barely a month before a June 3 snap presidential election, but the Cornell-educated academic faces the challenge of calming financial markets and steering a country in deep political, economic and social turmoil.

“We must do our utmost to prepare for financial market volatility and minimize economic uncertainty at a time of grave domestic and international economic conditions,” Lee said in a statement at midnight on Thursday.

He also called for unwavering alertness against nuclear-armed North Korea and communication with allies to calm questions about the integrity of South Korea’s international standing.

Lee conceded he faced an uphill battle as he arrived for his first day as acting leader, saying he would work closely with the cabinet and parliament, which had voted to remove three leaders before him.

“I believe the government administration operates under a system,” the 64-year-old told reporters, suggesting the complicated state machinery cannot be swayed by a single person.

Lee, known as a reserved academic who specialized in labour market economics and innovating education, had largely stayed out of the political fray during his two stints in government as education minister.

While he served one term as a member of parliament 20 years ago, it was in an uncontested proportional seat, chosen by the conservative party at the time to tap his academic expertise.

He then served as education minister under former President Lee Myung-bak.

Lee was again named education minister in November 2022 by Yoon. Previously, he worked as a professor at the Korea Development Institute think tank.

He has taken a conciliatory approach to resolving strife between the government and medical school students triggered by plans to increase the annual medical school enrolment, trying to bring back thousands of striking trainee doctors and medical students who are boycotting classes in protest.

As education minister, he spearheaded a plan to incorporate artificial intelligence technology in classrooms and previously worked to ease the country’s infamous cut-throat college entrance culture by introducing a more specialized high school system.

But in the process, he faced some criticism for his policies effectively deepening inequity in education and worsening chaos in how admission to university is managed.

(Reporting by Jack Kim and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Saad Sayeed)