Overview
- President Lee Jae Myung formally nominated Han Seong-sook for prime minister on June 7, triggering a National Assembly confirmation process.
- Outgoing Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is expected to stay in office until the confirmation is complete and is preparing to run for the ruling party leadership.
- Han, a former Naver CEO who became SMEs and Startups minister in 2025, has set livelihoods and an accelerated AI-driven industrial transition as her priorities while preparing for a parliamentary hearing.
- The Prime Minister's Office has assembled a team to help Han ready her confirmation testimony and observers say the ruling party majority in the 300-seat Assembly makes approval likely absent new ethical or legal obstacles.
- If confirmed, Han would be only South Korea's second female prime minister and her appointment would signal a policy focus on translating semiconductor and export gains into regional and small-business growth through practical measures such as administrative simplification and startup support.