President Yoon Suk Yeol has named a new chief for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) following the recent resignation announcement by the current head.

The presidential office said on Friday that current commissioner of the agency Peck Kyong-ran will be replaced by Jee Young-mee, the CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea who is an infectious disease expert with more than 20 years of experience serving at health and research facilities at home and abroad. 

Jee graduated from Seoul National University medical school and obtained masters and doctorate degrees at the University of London. She is currently a global member of the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on COVID-19.

The presidential office said Yoon's pick had taken part in the committee's vote to declare COVID-19 a public health emergency, and also served as a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

Her husband, Lee Chul-woo, is a professor at Yonsei University law school and a longtime friend of President Yoon.

Commissioner Peck has been under pressure to step down over criticism that shares she owned in several biomedical firms such as SK Bioscience constituted a conflict of interest. She has since disposed of all the stocks in question.