South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has appointed former trade minister Yeo Han-koo as his top trade strategist, reviving a Moon Jae-in-era technocrat to help steer South Korea through an era of tariff escalation, subsidy-driven industrial policy and growing fractures in the global trade system.

The decision this week reflects Lee’s continued trend of installing Democratic Party (DP) loyalists as well as established technocrats across key Cabinet posts during his first week in office.