Presidential office urges knowledge economy minister to resign after blackouts

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-kyung should offer to resign to take the fall for massive blackouts last week, an official at the presidential office said Sunday. "Our position is that it's not appropriate for the knowledge economy ministry to discuss damage control and promise to prevent recurrences," the official from Cheong Wa Dae told reporters. Choi is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 p.m. Sunday and he is expected to announce his resignation then. Sources said Yim Tae-hee, the presidential chief of staff, presided over a meeting where officials agreed that Choi should take responsibility for the power outages, and informed Choi of their conclusion. "At least during the question-and-answer, it would behoove Choi as a Cabinet minister to say he would take responsibility," the Cheong Wa Dae official added. South Korea reported massive blackouts last Thursday as unseasonably high temperatures pushed up demand to what the authorities called "dangerous levels." It forced them to temporarily cut power, which caused inconveniences for businesses and private citizens. It's not yet clear whether Choi's resignation offer, if it is made, will be accepted immediately, or if he will stay during the three-week parliamentary audit of the ministry starting Monday. The Cheong Wa Dae official said Choi may receive a "grace period" during the parliamentary inspection.