KOREA NAMES NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AND NEW FAIR

UNCLAS SEOUL 000861

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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
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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
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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

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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

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