President Park Geun-hye on Sunday appointed Lee Won-jong, who led the presidential committee on regional development, to be her new chief of staff.

Lee, 74, who served as the Seoul mayor and North Chungcheong governor in his 50 years of public service, will replace Lee Byung-kee, who is stepping down following the ruling Saenuri Party's defeat in the April 13 polls.

He also led the Korea Institute of Local Finance and the Seoul Institute, a local think tank, before joining Park's administration in July 2013 as the chief of the Presidential Committee on Regional Development.

"The new chief of staff has abundant experience and knowledge in administrative affairs," Kim Sung-woo, the chief presidential press secretary, said. "He is the right person to support the president so she can better communicate with the people and bring about national development."

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae also said that Park tapped her senior presidential secretary for economic affairs An Chong-bum as her chief policy aide. Kang Seog-hoon, a Saenuri Party lawmaker, has been named the chief economic adviser to succeed An.

An, an economist-turned-lawmaker who was a member of Park's presidential transition committee after the 2012 election, had been secretary for economic affairs since June 2015.

Kang, a former economics professor at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul, served on the transition committee and is viewed as possessing not only expert knowledge but also admirable drive.

"An is expected to bring efficiency to government policy management in the latter part of the president's term in office," Kim said. He also said, "Kang understands well the government's current policies and is expected to handle current economic issues such as vitalizing the local economy."

Under South Korean law Park can only serve a single one-year term in office. She steps down in late February of 2018. (Yonhap)