ID :
204080
Mon, 08/29/2011 - 07:04
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https://oananews.org//node/204080
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Ruling party chief asked Lee to replace unification minister: sources
Ruling party chief asked Lee to replace unification minister: sources
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling party chief has asked President Lee Myung-bak to replace the unification minister in charge of relations with North Korea when he shuffles the Cabinet this week, sources said Monday.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, recommended to Lee during a breakfast meeting Sunday that Unification Minister Hyun In-taek be sacked in a Cabinet shake-up expected for this week, sources in the ruling camp said.
Hong has been negative about Hyun's hard-line stance on Pyongyang and has called for his replacement to help improve long-strained relations with the communist nation. Hyun, a former security scholar, took office in 2009 and is the longest-serving minister in the current Cabinet.
Presidential aides said Lee plans to shuffle the Cabinet soon to get the ministers concurrently holding parliamentary seats back to the party and prepare for next year's general elections. They are Special Affairs Minister Lee Jae-oh, Health Minister Chin Soo-hee and Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug.
But officials have said that the reshuffle could affect the unification and the gender equality ministers as well.
Sources said that Hong "strongly" asked for Hyun to be replaced during the meeting with Lee.
Some had expected Hyun to be replaced in the last Cabinet reshuffle in May, but President Lee retained him apparently over concerns that his replacement could give Pyongyang the wrong message.
South Korea has demanded an apology from the North for last year's two deadly attacks as a precondition for restarting genuine engagement with Pyongyang. The North has denied responsibility for the March sinking of a warship, and claimed that its shelling of a border island was part of a self-defense measure.
Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since Lee took office with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs. Last year's attacks, which killed a combined 50 South Koreans, have sent the already-frayed ties plunging to the lowest levels in decades.
Former Ambassador to China Yu Woo-ik, who had also served as chief of staff to Lee, is considered the favorite to succeed Hyun if Lee decides to replace him. But officials said there still remains the possibility of Hyun being retained.
Yu's appointment could raise criticism that the same person is repeatedly used for many posts -- a practice criticized as a "revolving door appointment." Other candidates talked about include Nam Sung-wook, head of the state-run Institute for National Security Strategy, and Yun Deok-min, a senior analyst at the foreign ministry-affiliated Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
Candidates for the culture minister include former Gangwon Province Gov. Kim Jin-sun; Kim Jang-sil, head of Seoul Art Center; Choi Tae-ji, head of the Korea National Ballet; and Rep. Cho Yoon-sun of the ruling Grand National Party, officials said.
Song Seung-whan, an actor who heads a musical production firm, had been considered the favorite for the post, but Song declined to accept the new job, officials said.
Rim Che-min, minister of the Prime Minister's Office, is considered for the health minister, along with Noh Yun-hong, head of the Korea Food and Drug Administration, and Vice Health Minister Choi Won-young. Rep. Kim Kum-lae of the GNP has been talked about as a candidate for the gender equality minister.
jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling party chief has asked President Lee Myung-bak to replace the unification minister in charge of relations with North Korea when he shuffles the Cabinet this week, sources said Monday.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, recommended to Lee during a breakfast meeting Sunday that Unification Minister Hyun In-taek be sacked in a Cabinet shake-up expected for this week, sources in the ruling camp said.
Hong has been negative about Hyun's hard-line stance on Pyongyang and has called for his replacement to help improve long-strained relations with the communist nation. Hyun, a former security scholar, took office in 2009 and is the longest-serving minister in the current Cabinet.
Presidential aides said Lee plans to shuffle the Cabinet soon to get the ministers concurrently holding parliamentary seats back to the party and prepare for next year's general elections. They are Special Affairs Minister Lee Jae-oh, Health Minister Chin Soo-hee and Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug.
But officials have said that the reshuffle could affect the unification and the gender equality ministers as well.
Sources said that Hong "strongly" asked for Hyun to be replaced during the meeting with Lee.
Some had expected Hyun to be replaced in the last Cabinet reshuffle in May, but President Lee retained him apparently over concerns that his replacement could give Pyongyang the wrong message.
South Korea has demanded an apology from the North for last year's two deadly attacks as a precondition for restarting genuine engagement with Pyongyang. The North has denied responsibility for the March sinking of a warship, and claimed that its shelling of a border island was part of a self-defense measure.
Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since Lee took office with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs. Last year's attacks, which killed a combined 50 South Koreans, have sent the already-frayed ties plunging to the lowest levels in decades.
Former Ambassador to China Yu Woo-ik, who had also served as chief of staff to Lee, is considered the favorite to succeed Hyun if Lee decides to replace him. But officials said there still remains the possibility of Hyun being retained.
Yu's appointment could raise criticism that the same person is repeatedly used for many posts -- a practice criticized as a "revolving door appointment." Other candidates talked about include Nam Sung-wook, head of the state-run Institute for National Security Strategy, and Yun Deok-min, a senior analyst at the foreign ministry-affiliated Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
Candidates for the culture minister include former Gangwon Province Gov. Kim Jin-sun; Kim Jang-sil, head of Seoul Art Center; Choi Tae-ji, head of the Korea National Ballet; and Rep. Cho Yoon-sun of the ruling Grand National Party, officials said.
Song Seung-whan, an actor who heads a musical production firm, had been considered the favorite for the post, but Song declined to accept the new job, officials said.
Rim Che-min, minister of the Prime Minister's Office, is considered for the health minister, along with Noh Yun-hong, head of the Korea Food and Drug Administration, and Vice Health Minister Choi Won-young. Rep. Kim Kum-lae of the GNP has been talked about as a candidate for the gender equality minister.
jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)
