South Korean President Park Geun Hye on Tuesday named Ambassador to Japan Lee Byung Ki as head of the state intelligence agency, the presidential office said.
Park also nominated Moon Chang Keuk, a former journalist, as the new prime minister in place of Chung Hong Won, presidential spokesman Min Kyung Wook said.
Lee "has been thought as the right person for the job in light of the grim situation between the South and the North and on the Korean Peninsula," Min said.
He also said premier-designate Moon "is expected to vigorously push ahead with reforms in the officialdom and implement various policies."
The appointments are expected to be approved by parliament where Park's ruling party holds a majority.
The appointments are seen as a bid to regain public trust, with the government having drawn fierce criticism for its bungling of the initial rescue operations during the April 16 ferry sinking that left more than 300 passengers, mostly high school students, dead or missing.
The nomination of Moon as prime minister came two weeks after Ahn Dai Hee declined his nomination as prime minister amid criticism that he had allegedly benefited his status as a former Supreme Court justice in cutting remuneration deals as a lawyer.
In South Korea, the prime minister is primarily a coordinator of the Cabinet, which is chaired by the president.
Reference: Global Post
Park also nominated Moon Chang Keuk, a former journalist, as the new prime minister in place of Chung Hong Won, presidential spokesman Min Kyung Wook said.
Lee "has been thought as the right person for the job in light of the grim situation between the South and the North and on the Korean Peninsula," Min said.
He also said premier-designate Moon "is expected to vigorously push ahead with reforms in the officialdom and implement various policies."
The appointments are expected to be approved by parliament where Park's ruling party holds a majority.
The appointments are seen as a bid to regain public trust, with the government having drawn fierce criticism for its bungling of the initial rescue operations during the April 16 ferry sinking that left more than 300 passengers, mostly high school students, dead or missing.
The nomination of Moon as prime minister came two weeks after Ahn Dai Hee declined his nomination as prime minister amid criticism that he had allegedly benefited his status as a former Supreme Court justice in cutting remuneration deals as a lawyer.
In South Korea, the prime minister is primarily a coordinator of the Cabinet, which is chaired by the president.
Reference: Global Post
