President Lee Jae-myung nominated Lim Kwang-hyun (55), a former Vice Administrator of the National Tax Service, as the first Commissioner for the new government.
Candidate Lim is known as an expert in tax audits, having served six consecutive terms as the head of the investigation division at the National Tax Service. After retiring with honor as the Vice Administrator of the National Tax Service in July 2022, he entered politics in February of last year through the Democratic Party of Korea's talent recruitment event. He was elected as a proportional representative in the 22nd general election.
Candidate Lim was born in 1969 in Hongseong, South Chungcheong. After graduating from Gangseo High School in Seoul and the Economics Department at Yonsei University, he entered public service through the 38th National Civil Service Examination. He joined the National Tax Service and served as the head of the Sokcho Tax Office and Director of the Investigation Planning Division, later serving as head of the Investigation Division at the Central and Seoul offices as well as the main office. After being promoted to Grade 1, he served as the head of the Seoul Regional Tax Service and Vice Administrator of the National Tax Service.
He is considered skilled in the auditing work known as the 'flower' of the National Tax Service and is praised for his extensive knowledge of tax administration.
In his entry into central politics, he is noted for leading the Democratic Party of Korea's tax law revisions. During the party's presidential candidate primary, he served as the secretary of the 'Salary Defense Corps,' which dealt with the reform of the tax system for workers within Lee Jae-myung's campaign.
Kang Hoon, the head of the presidential secretariat, commented on the background of candidate Lim's nomination, saying, "Candidate Lim is a tax administration expert who has served as the head of the Seoul Regional Tax Service and Vice Administrator of the National Tax Service. He will contribute to fair tax administration and taxpayer protection based on a broader perspective gained through his activities on the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee."
The head of the National Tax Service is not a Cabinet member, making it impossible to hold both positions as a lawmaker. Article 29 of the National Assembly Act stipulates that "a member of the Assembly may not hold any other position other than that of the Prime Minister or a Cabinet member." Accordingly, candidate Lim is expected to resign from his parliamentary position. It is anticipated that Lim's parliamentary badge will be inherited by Lee Joo-hee, a lawyer at Dasan Law LLC, who was a candidate for the proportional representation in a lower tier. This lawyer, a former national student chairperson of the Democratic Labor Party, was included in the proportional representative candidate list as a suggested candidate from civil society.
▲ Born in 1969 in Hongseong, South Chungcheong ▲ Graduated from the Economics Department at Yonsei University ▲ Completed studies at Harvard Law School (International Tax Course) ▲ 38th National Civil Service Examination ▲ Head of Sokcho Tax Office ▲ Head of the International Investigation Division of the Seoul Office ▲ Director of Investigation Planning Division of National Tax Service ▲ Inspector General at the Seoul Office ▲ Head of Investigation Division 1 at the Central Regional Tax Service ▲ Head of Investigation Division 4 at the Central Regional Tax Service ▲ Head of Investigation Division 2 at the Seoul Regional Tax Service ▲ Head of Investigation Division 4 at the Seoul Regional Tax Service ▲ Head of Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Office ▲ Head of Investigation Division at the National Tax Service ▲ Head of the Seoul Regional Tax Service ▲ Vice Administrator of the National Tax Service ▲ Member of the 22nd National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, proportional representative)