KOREA NAMES NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AND NEW FAIR

UNCLAS SEOUL 000861 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE PASS USTR FOR CUTLER, AUGEROT, KI AND R. SMITH JUSTICE FOR STU CHEMTOB STATE FOR OES/ETC, OES/ENV, OES/PCI STATE ALSO FOR EB/TPP/BTA AND EAP/K EPA FOR OIA USDOC FOR 4431/ITA/MAC/OPB/EAP/MORGAN TREASURY FOR IA/ISA/BUCKLEY AND ITT/CHANG WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PGOV KS SUBJECT: KOREA NAMES NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AND NEW FAIR TRADE COMMISSION CHAIRMAN NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: LEE CHI-BEOM -------------- ¶1. (U) On March 15, President Roh nominated Lee Chi-beom, President of Korea's state-run company that promotes recycling (the Korea Environment and Resources Corporation - - ENVICO) to be Minister of the Environment. The nominee will replace Lee Jae-yong, who resigned to run in local elections slated for May 31. Lee Chi-beom, aged 52, is a former secretary general of one of Korea's most influential environmental NGOs, the Korea Federation of the Environmental Movement(KFEM). According to one press report, he also worked on the campaign staff of President Roh Moo-hyun. ¶2. (U) Following is the available biographic information about the nominee. Name: Lee Chi-beom Date of Birth: September 25, 1954 Place of Birth: Yeasan County, South Chungchung Province Education: MA in philosophy from Seoul National University Experience: -- October 2003 - March 2006: President, Korean Environment and Resources Corporation (ENVICO),formerly called Korea Resources Recovery and Reutilization Corporation (KORECO) -- February 2002 - November 2002: Chairman, Koyang Chapter, Korea Federation of the Environmental Movement (KFEM) -- March 1993 - December 1997: Secretary General, KFEM -- June 1993 - September 1993: President, Korea Environmental Society Policy Research Institute -- March 1988 - February 1993: Lecturer at Kwangwoon University, Seoul NEW KFTC CHAIRMAN: KWON OH-SEUNG -------------- ¶3. (U) On the same day, President Roh Moo-hyun nominated Kwon Oh-seung Kwon, a leading anti-trust law professor, to be the new Chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC),replacing Kang Chul-kyu, whose three-year tenure expired last week. Kwon is well-known as an expert on competition law, and is currently a professor of law at Seoul National University and has served as the Chairman of the Competition Policy Advisory Committee for the KFTC since last September. As indicated by Kwon's numerous publications, the new chief trust-buster has experience with a range of competition issues, including anti-trust laws, mergers and acquisitions, and cartels related to Korean chaebols. Kwon has a doctoral degree in law from Seoul National University. ¶4. (SBU) In announcing the appointment, Kim Wan-key, senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs, said "Dr. Kwon has expressed his intention to keep the current tone of fair trade policies unchanged." However, since the government's three-year market reform plan finishes at the end of this year, Kwon will have to establish new policies for Korea's conglomerates. A representative of the Federation of Korean Industries told the Embassy that Kwon may be more moderate about chaebol policy compared to his predecessor, but stricter relevant to rules governing M&A and cartels. Secretary Kim of the Blue House staff said, "Dr. Kwon has SIPDIS firm principles concerning chaebol and other policies, but he is realistic and modest in his approach." ¶5. (U) Following is the available biographic information about the nominee. Name: Kwon Oh-seung Date of Birth: January 12, 1950 Place of Birth: Ahndong, North Gyeongsang Province Religion: Christian Family: Married with two sons 1973 B.A. in Law, Seoul National University 1973 M.A. in Economic Law, Seoul National University 1987 J.D. in Economic Law, Seoul National University CAREER: -- 1992-Present: Professor, Antitrust Law and Economic Regulation, Kyonghee University. -- 1997-1998 and 2001-2003: Member of Competition Policy Advisory Committee, KFTC -- 2005-Present: Chairman of Competition Policy Advisory Committee, KFTC -- 1998-1999: Visiting Scholar, East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School -- 1999: Visiting Professor, Mainz University, Germany -- 2000: Visiting Professor, Waseda University, Japan -- 2000-Present: President of Competition Law Association BOOKS: 1987 Regulations on the Corporate Consolidation 1992 Competition Laws 1992 Issues on Civil Law 1992 Special Lectures on Civil Law 1992 Lectures on Fair Trade Law 2002 Economic Laws 2002 Consumer Protection Law Vershbow