President Lee Jae-myung nominated Lee Jin-sook, former president of Chungnam National University, as the candidate for Minister of Education on the 29th. The Presidential Office introduced the candidate as someone with diverse experiences in science, technology, and education policies, being the first female president from a local national university, and evaluated her as a suitable person for promoting balanced development in education and nurturing future talents.

Candidate Lee Jin-sook was born in Daejeon in 1960, graduated from Daejeon Girls' High School, obtained a bachelor's and master's degree in architectural engineering from Chungnam National University, and a Ph.D. in architectural environmental planning from Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. Since joining Chungnam University as a professor in the Department of Architectural Engineering in 1989, she has held various key positions within the university, including head of the Department of Architecture, dean of the College of Engineering, director of International Affairs, and chair of the Women Professors Association.

She was elected as the 19th president of Chungnam National University in 2020 and served until 2024. During her tenure as president, she was the first case where faculty, students, and administrative staff were all directly elected through a direct election system. Being an alumna of the university and the first female president in the history of Chungnam National University, she actively participated in discussions on institutional improvements in higher education and the development of local universities as the chair of the National Association of Presidents of National Universities during her presidency.

After retiring as president, she returned to her position as a professor and also worked as the chief architect of Daejeon, contributing to urban policies and coordinating public architecture. Furthermore, she served as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology and the National Architecture Policy Committee, actively engaging in central government advisory bodies.

In this reshuffle, the candidate is regarded as a person with both expertise and symbolism, and is expected to actively participate in policies such as reforming higher education finances, expanding support for local universities, and strengthening education in science and engineering fields in the future.