President Lee Jae-myung has presented a letter of appointment to Special Inspector Choi Gil-soo.

On the morning of October 30, President Lee conferred the letter of appointment on Special Inspector Choi at the Blue House and held a tea meeting.

Senior Blue House Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung reported that President Lee told Inspector Choi at the meeting, "There is much work to do," and stressed, "Above all, an early response and proactive prevention are crucial when problems arise."

The Office of the Special Inspector is an independent body tasked with investigating the president's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity, and Blue House officials ranked senior presidential secretary or higher.

After the inaugural inspector Lee Seok-su, appointed under the Park Geun-hye administration, stepped down midway through his term while investigating then Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo, the post had remained vacant for more than 10 years throughout the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations.

Since early in his term last year, President Lee asked the National Assembly to initiate the appointment process for a special inspector, stating, "Even for the sake of the person in power's own security, it is better to face checks and balances."

Following deliberations, the National Assembly adopted a confirmation hearing report on Inspector Choi by bipartisan agreement on October 22, and President Lee approved the appointment the following day on October 23.

On October 30, President Lee also handed letters of appointment to three special advisers: Special Adviser for Political Affairs Kim Kyoung-soo, Special Adviser for Peace and Foreign Affairs Song Young-gil, and Special Adviser for Defense Policy Kim Byung-joo.

Six chairs and vice chairs of presidential commissions also received letters of appointment: Park Jeong-hyun, chair of the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development; Ha Jung-woo, vice chair of the National AI Strategy Commission; Kye Seung-gyun, chair of the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property; Kim Ki-young, chair of the National Library Committee; Hong Mi-young, chair of the Presidential Commission on Sustainable Development; and Paik Jong-woo, vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Life and Safety.

Addressing the newly appointed special advisers, President Lee requested, "You must be mindful that the words and actions of special advisers can be interpreted as the government's official stance."

Regarding the presidential committees, he said, "They must not remain mere formal organizations, but play a substantive role," emphasizing the need for effective advisory functions, and asked them to actively and frequently offer diverse perspectives as experts in their respective fields.

(Photo courtesy of the Blue House, Yonhap News)