MDP, ULD members likely to join cabinet

There is a high possibility that some members of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and its former coalition partner, the United Liberal Democrats (ULD), will be appointed as cabinet members. The move is expected to come when President Kim Dae-Jung reshuffles the ministerial portfolios early next year, following parliamentary approval of a revision of the Government Organizational Law.

A key post holder of the MDP said Tuesday that President Kim was likely to appoint at least one or two ULD members as ministers in the forthcoming cabinet change in an effort to restore the coalition.

Noting that members of the MDP supreme council made such a recommendation at its meeting on Dec. 21, party chairman Kim Joong-Kwon said that he conveyed the proposal to the President.

Meanwhile, presiding over a cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, President Kim said that although there was rampant speculation on the cabinet change, he has not yet decided anything and hasn't even talked about the matter with anyone.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said that the President's remarks might mean that it would take some time to finalize the ministerial shuffle. But he added that, depending on the situation, the cabinet shakeup would likely be delayed until next February, when the ongoing reforms in the four major sectors have been completed.