SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in has fired both his top economic policymakers and replaced them with people already in the government, his office said on Friday, a move widely seen as intended to reinforce his controversial policies.
Moon has replaced chief presidential policy aide Jang Ha-sung and finance minister Kim Dong-yeon, the two most senior policymakers in charge of running Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the presidential office announced.
It was a bigger reshuffle than expected, but the appointment of their successors from within the government indicated President Moon would reinforce his economic policies, which economists have said were hurting growth.
Presidential social policy aide Kim Soo-hyun will succeed Jang and veteran bureaucrat Hong Nam-ki, currently head of the government policy co-ordination office, will be the new finance minister, the presidential office said.
The incoming chief presidential policy aide has been behind harsh regulatory measures aimed at curbing housing prices, which many analysts have said were against market principles.
The incoming finance minister has served at various government departments such as the finance ministry and the presidential office. He is still required to appear at a parliamentary verification hearing although approval there is not mandatory.
The high-profile appointments came amid criticism that Moon’s signature policies such as big minimum wage increases and a shorter work week had backfired, with lower income earners — the intended beneficiaries — feeling the most pain as employers cut back hiring.
South Korea’s minimum wages are set to be raised by nearly 30 percent over two years and the work week has been cut by almost a quarter for big companies, but initial outcomes have been a plunge in employment rates and lower incomes.
The outgoing finance minister, who has served since June last year as Moon’s first top economic policy planner, has repeatedly clashed with Jang by calling for some adjustment of the president’s ‘income-led growth’ strategy.
The economy saw growth in the July-September quarter holding steady from the previous quarter at 0.6 percent, but missing the market expectations as construction spending plunged by the most in two decades.
Private consumption held up on increased welfare support but a sharp cut in infrastructure spending and strong controls on property transactions clouded the outlook at a time when the global demand for South Korea’s exports is cooling.
South Korean President Moon sacks economic policy chiefs
South Korean President Moon sacks economic policy chiefs
- Moon Jae-In has replaced chief presidential policy aide Jang Ha-sung and finance minister Kim Dong-yeon
- The move widely seen as intended to reinforce his controversial policies
Suspect arrested after a fire damages a historic Mississippi synagogue
- The 160-year-old synagogue, the largest in Mississippi and the only one in Jackson, was the site of a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967
- The synagogue will continue its regular worship programs and services for Shabbat, likely at one of the local churches that reached out
Congregants and leaders vowed to rebuild a historic Mississippi synagogue that was heavily damaged by fire and an individual was taken into custody for what authorities said Sunday was an act of arson.
The fire ripped through the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, authorities said. No congregants were injured in the blaze.
Photos showed the charred remains of an administrative office and synagogue library, where several Torahs were destroyed or damaged.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed that a person was taken into custody following an investigation that also included the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship,” Horhn said in a statement.
He did not provide the name of the suspect or the charges that the person is facing. A spokesperson for the Jackson FBI said they are “working with law enforcement partners on this investigation.”
The 160-year-old synagogue, the largest in Mississippi and the only one in Jackson, was the site of a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967 — a response to the congregation’s role in civil rights activities, according to the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which also houses its office in the building.
“That history reminds us that attacks on houses of worship, whatever their cause, strike at the heart of our shared moral life,” said CJ Rhodes, a prominent Black Baptist pastor in Jackson, in a Facebook post.
“This wasn’t random vandalism — it was a deliberate, targeted attack on the Jewish community,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of The Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement.
“That it has been attacked again, amid a surge of antisemitic incidents across the US, is a stark reminder: antisemitic violence is escalating, and it demands total condemnation and swift action from everyone,” Greenblatt said.
The congregation is still assessing the damage and received outreach from other houses of worship, said Michele Schipper, CEO of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life and past president of the congregation. The synagogue will continue its regular worship programs and services for Shabbat, the weekly Jewish Sabbath, likely at one of the local churches that reached out.
“We are a resilient people,” said Beth Israel Congregation President Zach Shemper in a statement. “With support from our community, we will rebuild.”
One Torah that survived the Holocaust was behind glass not damaged in the fire, Schipper said. Five Torahs inside the sanctuary are being assessed for smoke damage. Two Torahs inside the library, where the most severe damage was done, were destroyed, according to a synagogue representative.
The floors, walls and ceiling of the sanctuary were covered in soot, and the synagogue will have to replace upholstery and carpeting.
“A lot of times we hear things happening throughout the country in other parts, and we feel like this wouldn’t happen in our part,” said chief fire investigator Charles Felton “A lot of people are in disbelief that this would happen here in Jackson, Mississippi.”
