President Moon Jae-in will likely name his new nominee for minister of SMEs and startups shortly after the Chuseok holiday, an official from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.

“We are working hard to find a candidate and will name a new nominee as soon as can,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The haste in government efforts to find a new candidate for the head of the newly created Ministry of SMEs and Startups comes after the president stressed the need to quickly implement his government‘s new growth strategies, which are to be centered around income and innovation.

“Our government created the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee to support innovation-led growth. But it appears the innovation-led growth strategy could not be actively pursued because an SMEs and startups minister could not be appointed and the work of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee has not yet been launched in earnest,” Moon told a cabinet meeting held last Tuesday.

The president originally designated Park Seong-jin, an engineering professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology, as new minister of SMEs and startups. However, Park withdrew earlier in the month amid criticism over his qualifications and his controversial views on religion and history.

A new SMEs and startups minister, if appointed, will complete the lineup of Moon’s first cabinet, more than four months after the new president took office in May. (Yonhap)