This article was published on March 6, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. on the ChosunBiz RM report site.
With the position of Vice Administrator of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) vacant for three months, several individuals have been mentioned as candidates. The Vice Administrator is the second-in-command after the Minister, and if the current Minister's term ends without reappointment, the Vice Administrator must also assume the responsibilities of the Minister. Currently, there have been reports suggesting that Director General for Planning and Coordination Woo Young-taek is a strong candidate.
The MFDS vice administrator position became vacant when former Vice Administrator Kim Yu-mi retired honorably on December 31 last year. A successor has yet to be determined. The internal personnel and organizational restructuring slowed down due to the state of emergency and impeachment politics last December.
After Minister Kim's retirement, key Director Generals born in the 1960s and 1970s have been mentioned as potential successors. The candidate pool includes Director General for Planning and Coordination Woo Young-taek, Director General of Food Consumer Safety Kim Yong-jae, Director General of Food Safety Policy Kim Sung-gon, Director of the MFDS evaluation center Kang Seok-yeon, Director General of Drug Safety Kim Sang-bong, Director General of Biopharmaceuticals Shin Jun-soo, and Gyeongin MFDS Commissioner Kim Myung-ho, among others. Recently, reports have suggested that Director General for Planning and Coordination Woo Young-taek is the frontrunner.
Woo Young-taek, Director General for Planning and Coordination, born in 1969, began his public service career as a level 9 civil servant. He graduated from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical and Food Science at Chungang University and has experienced various roles in the food and drug sectors within the MFDS. He has served in multiple key positions, including head of the General Affairs Division, head of the Central Investigation Team for Hazardous Food, head of Consumer Risk Prevention Policy, spokesperson, Gyeongin MFDS Commissioner, and head of the Import Food Safety Policy Division.
An internal source at the MFDS stated, “MFDS staff members also do not know the details regarding the appointment,” but noted, “Director General Woo is an administrative bureaucrat with extensive experience in food and drug sectors, enjoying strong support internally and difficult to categorize as biased towards a specific field, which likely explains why he is being considered as a candidate for vice administrator.”
Kim Sung-gon, Director General of Food Safety Policy, born in 1971, is a graduate of the 45th National Examination for Public Administration and graduated from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University and the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University. He served as head of the Import Food Policy Division at the MFDS, dispatched to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, head of Consumer Risk Prevention Policy, head of the Life Science Center at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, head of the Planning and Research Division at the National Institute of Health, and Commissioner of the Seoul MFDS.
Kim Yong-jae, Director General of Food Consumer Safety, born in 1969, graduated from Jeonbuk National University and has held positions such as head of the Foodborne Illness Prevention Division, head of the Food Safety Management Division, and as a member of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, as well as serving as Commissioner of Gwangju MFDS. Kim Sang-bong, Director General of Drug Safety, born in 1969, graduated from Seoul National University College of Pharmacy and began his public service career through the 1996 civil service recruitment for pharmacy positions. He has served as head of the Drug Policy Division in 2016, head of the Support Division for Convergence Innovation Products in 2018, narcotics safety planner, and Director General of Biopharmaceuticals.
The potential resignation of current MFDS Minister Oh Yu-kyung is also garnering attention. The MFDS Minister is a cabinet member who participates in cabinet meetings. Minister Oh has been in office for 2 years and 9 months. There have been reports that Minister Oh expressed her intent to resign since last year. If she were to resign after completing her 3-year term, the newly appointed vice administrator would have to assume the duties on an acting basis.
Minister Oh previously served as the dean of the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University and was appointed as the MFDS Minister in May 2022. Born in Changwon, Gyeongnam, she completed her undergraduate and master's degrees at Seoul National University College of Pharmacy and received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York. She has also worked as a researcher at Boryung and SK Chemicals and has moved through the Korean Intellectual Property Office, CHA University, and Korea University before being appointed as a professor at Seoul National University in 2009. In July 2021, she became the first woman to serve as dean in the 106-year history of Seoul National University College of Pharmacy.
As the Constitutional Court has mentioned the possibility of an early presidential election in light of the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol, the political situation is also a variable concerning the appointment of key personnel including the MFDS Minister and organizational restructuring.
An MFDS official stated, “Verification of the current vice administrator candidates is ongoing, but details regarding the candidate pool and the timing of announcements are not known,” and added, “Appointments will be made carefully, considering the stability of internal organization and the direction of policies.”