Koo Yun-cheol
Koo Yun-cheol is a South Korean government official who has served as the Minister of Economy and Finance since July 2025. He previously served as the Minister for Government Policy Coordination from 2020 to 2022 and the Vice Minister of Economy and Finance from 2018 to 2020.
Career
After qualifying for the Public Administration Examination, he had been involved in various positions within the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He also used to work at the [Office of the President of South Korea|President (South Korea)|Office of the President] under the former President Roh Moo-hyun. During the presidency of Lee Myung-bak, he was a senior secretary of the Inter-American Development Bank.Following the inauguration of the President Moon Jae-in, Koo became the Chief of Budget Office within the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He was promoted to the deputy head of the Ministry in December 2018.
Prior to the 2020 election, Koo was one of the potential candidate in Daegu-North Gyeongsang area. He, however, declined to run, citing, "I'm neither willing, nor not in a situation to run."
On 8 May 2020, Koo was appointed the new Minister for Government Policy Coordination.
Koo has been widely considered as the potential Deputy Prime Minister. On 18 July 2025, President Lee Jae Myung endorsed the appointment of Koo as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance.