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Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum (Yonhap) |
President Moon Jae-in has nominated former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum as his third prime minister and is replacing five other ministers as part of a major Cabinet shake-up, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.
The ministers in charge of industry, land, labor, science and oceans are set to be replaced in the reshuffle, and key Cheong Wa Dae staff are to be reorganized.
The reshuffle is seen as an attempt to stabilize state affairs at the end of Moon’s term after the ruling party lost mayoral elections in the nation’s two largest cities, Seoul and Busan, this month.
Kim Boo-kyum, a four-term lawmaker, will replace former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who recently expressed a desire to run for president.
For the position of land minister, Moon appointed Noh Hyeong-ouk, former head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. For the industry minister post, Moon Sung-wook, the second deputy minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, was appointed.
Park Jun-young, currently the vice minister of oceans and fisheries, was promoted to minister.
An Kyung-duk, a standing member of the Presidential Economic, Social and Labor Committee, was selected as the new labor minister. Lim Hye-sook, former chief of the National Research Council of Science & Technology, was appointed minister of science.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who was expected to be replaced, will remain in office.
President Moon also announced the replacement of some senior presidential officials and secretaries.
Choi Jae-sung, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, left Cheong Wa Dae and former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Cheol-hee was nominated for the post.
Lee Tae-han, a former senior official at the Health Ministry, replaces Yoon Chang-yul, Moon’s senior secretary for social policy. Park Kyung-mee, formerly the Presidential Secretariat’s education secretary, was appointed spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
