ID :
204462
Tue, 08/30/2011 - 23:56
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204462
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Lee names new unification minister in Cabinet reshuffle
Lee names new unification minister in Cabinet reshuffle
(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes in paras 9-10, party reactions in last 2 paras, RECASTS paras 14-17)
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak named a close confidant as South Korea's new unification minister handling relations with North Korea in a Cabinet reorganization Tuesday, a replacement that may signal a shift in Seoul's policy on Pyongyang.
New Unification Minister-designate Yu Woo-ik, who previously served as Lee's chief of staff and ambassador to China, will succeed Hyun In-taek, a scholar-turned-minister known for his hard-line stance on North Korea.
Hyun was named a special presidential advisor for unification affairs in the announcement.
The replacing of Hyun had been expected as the leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) had strongly called for naming a new minister to help improve the South's long-strained relations with the communist nation.
Tuesday's shake-up also affected three other ministers.
Choe Kwang-sik, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, was named as the culture minister; Rim Che-min, minister of the Prime Minister's Office, as the health minister; and Rep. Kim Kum-lae of the GNP as the gender equality minister, senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo said.
Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong was named the minister of the Prime Minister's Office.
The new ministers will be formally appointed after parliamentary confirmation hearings.
"President Lee nominated four ministers in order to smoothly push for key state projects and to reinvigorate the administration," spokesman Kim said. "The focus was on finding those with good work skills so that they can produce tangible results while maintaining the consistency in policies."
Kim also said that the new unification minister nominee, Yu, is expected to pursue more "developmental" policies while keeping the consistency in unification policies that his predecessor pushed for.
Presidential aides had said that Lee would reshuffle the Cabinet in order to allow the ministers concurrently holding parliamentary seats to focus more on the party and prepare for next year's general elections. Those replaced were Health Minister Chin Soo-hee and Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug, both GNP lawmakers.
Special Affairs Minister Lee Jae-oh is expected to resign as early as Wednesday, but President Lee does not plan to name a new special affairs minister for the time being, officials said.
Hyun, who took office in 2009, was the longest-serving minister in the current Cabinet.
During his term, Hyun has seen North Korea conduct a nuclear test, a series of long and short-range missile tests and other provocations, including last year's two deadly attacks on the South that sent the already frayed ties plunging to their lowest levels in decades.
South Korea has demanded an apology from the North for the 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.
The two sides fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the divided peninsula still technically at war.
Their relations had warmed significantly after the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000, but cooled sharply since Lee took office in early 2009 with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs.
The ruling party GNP gave a positive assessment of Tuesday's shake-up, saying that President Lee selected the right people for the right positions.
But the main opposition Democratic Party was critical of the reorganization, especially Lee's appointment of the outgoing unification minister Hyun as his special advisor. DP spokesman Lee Yong-sup said the move shows Lee's "ill-advised perceptions of the North" have not changed.
(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes in paras 9-10, party reactions in last 2 paras, RECASTS paras 14-17)
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak named a close confidant as South Korea's new unification minister handling relations with North Korea in a Cabinet reorganization Tuesday, a replacement that may signal a shift in Seoul's policy on Pyongyang.
New Unification Minister-designate Yu Woo-ik, who previously served as Lee's chief of staff and ambassador to China, will succeed Hyun In-taek, a scholar-turned-minister known for his hard-line stance on North Korea.
Hyun was named a special presidential advisor for unification affairs in the announcement.
The replacing of Hyun had been expected as the leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) had strongly called for naming a new minister to help improve the South's long-strained relations with the communist nation.
Tuesday's shake-up also affected three other ministers.
Choe Kwang-sik, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, was named as the culture minister; Rim Che-min, minister of the Prime Minister's Office, as the health minister; and Rep. Kim Kum-lae of the GNP as the gender equality minister, senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo said.
Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong was named the minister of the Prime Minister's Office.
The new ministers will be formally appointed after parliamentary confirmation hearings.
"President Lee nominated four ministers in order to smoothly push for key state projects and to reinvigorate the administration," spokesman Kim said. "The focus was on finding those with good work skills so that they can produce tangible results while maintaining the consistency in policies."
Kim also said that the new unification minister nominee, Yu, is expected to pursue more "developmental" policies while keeping the consistency in unification policies that his predecessor pushed for.
Presidential aides had said that Lee would reshuffle the Cabinet in order to allow the ministers concurrently holding parliamentary seats to focus more on the party and prepare for next year's general elections. Those replaced were Health Minister Chin Soo-hee and Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug, both GNP lawmakers.
Special Affairs Minister Lee Jae-oh is expected to resign as early as Wednesday, but President Lee does not plan to name a new special affairs minister for the time being, officials said.
Hyun, who took office in 2009, was the longest-serving minister in the current Cabinet.
During his term, Hyun has seen North Korea conduct a nuclear test, a series of long and short-range missile tests and other provocations, including last year's two deadly attacks on the South that sent the already frayed ties plunging to their lowest levels in decades.
South Korea has demanded an apology from the North for the 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.
The two sides fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the divided peninsula still technically at war.
Their relations had warmed significantly after the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000, but cooled sharply since Lee took office in early 2009 with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs.
The ruling party GNP gave a positive assessment of Tuesday's shake-up, saying that President Lee selected the right people for the right positions.
But the main opposition Democratic Party was critical of the reorganization, especially Lee's appointment of the outgoing unification minister Hyun as his special advisor. DP spokesman Lee Yong-sup said the move shows Lee's "ill-advised perceptions of the North" have not changed.
