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| Kang Soo-jin / Courtesy of LG |
A female law school professor with a decade-long career as a prosecutor has been mentioned as the strongest candidate to become the first head of the antitrust watchdog under the presidency of Yoon Suk-yeol.
According to government sources and media reports, Tuesday, the presidential office will soon announce the nomination of Korea University professor Kang Soo-jin, 51, as the chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
"We have nothing to say about the rumor at this moment," an official of the presidential office said.
If Kang is appointed as the FTC chairperson, she will be the first legal professional to lead the agency. In addition, she will be its second female chief, following her predecessor, Joh Sung-wook.
Yoon has been nominating female experts as ministers lately, after facing criticism for prioritizing senior male politicians in Cabinet nominations.
However, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea still criticized the president for giving preference to former prosecutors, given that the position of the Financial Supervisory Service governor also went to a former prosecutor.
Kang, who started her career in 1995 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, has been known for working with Yoon between 1997 and 1999 at the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.
Her previous colleague said in an earlier interview that three female prosecutors including Kang had taken turns carpooling with Yoon, as he does not have a driver's license.
After leaving the prosecutors' office in 2004, Kang worked at law firms such as Logos and Yulchon.
Between 2008 and 2010, she worked for the FTC temporarily, handling lawsuits involving the agency.
She was appointed as a professor of Korea University School of Law in 2011.
Since March of last year, she has also served as a nonexecutive director of LG Electronics.
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