S. Korean president names 7 ministers in cabinet reshuffle

SEOUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday named seven new ministers, including a top policymaker in charge of Inter-Korean affairs, in a cabinet reshuffle for the third year of his five-year presidency, according to the presidential Blue House.

Kim Yeon-chul, the current chief of the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, was nominated to replace Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-keum told a press briefing.

The spokesman said the unification minister nominee was a prominent expert on Inter-Korean relations with a broad experience both in academics and the field.

He noted that the 55-year-old was a right person to realize the New Korean Peninsula Regime, advocated by Moon, which aimed to build a community of peace and cooperation on the peninsula by speeding up the implementation of the Inter-Korean declarations.

It was the third and biggest cabinet reshuffle since the Moon government took office in May 2017. In August last year, five ministers were replaced, while the new finance minister was named in November last year.

Minister nominees are subject to parliamentary confirmation hearings before taking office.

Ahead of the general elections next year, four minister-turned-lawmakers were replaced. While serving in the cabinet, lawmakers are not required to give up their parliamentary seats, but they are banned from running in elections.

Do Jong-hwan, the minister of culture, sports and tourism and the ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, was replaced by Park Yang-woo, a professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Kim Young-choon, also lawmakers of the Democratic Party, were replaced by Choi Jeong-ho, a former vice minister for the land and transport, and Moon Seong-hyeok, a professor at World Maritime University, each.

Kim Boo-kyum, the minister of public administration and security and the Democratic Party lawmaker, was replaced by another Democratic Party legislator Chin Young.

Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party lawmaker, was tapped to lead the ministry of SMEs and startups, while Cho Dong-ho, a professor at The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), was nominated as science minister.