21 new vice ministers appointed

President Kim Dae-Jung Sunday conducted a sweeping reshuffle affecting 21 vice ministerial-level officials, appointing Chung Soo-Boo, deputy head of the Ministry of Legislation as head of the ministry, and Lee Jae-Dal, former head of the Armed Forces Special Inspection Group, as chief of the Patriots and Veterans Administration. Lee Jae-Gwan, former commander of the First Army, was named chairman of the Emergency Planning Commission, while Kim Jin-Pyo, deputy minister for tax and customs at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, was appointed vice minister.

In a shakeup that followed the Mar. 26 Cabinet shuffle, President Kim appointed assistant unification minister Kim Hyung-Ki as vice minister; Ambassador to Britain Choi Sung-Hong as vice minister of foreign affairs and trade; and Kwon Young-Hyo, former head of the procurement bureau at the Ministry of Defense, as vice defense minister. All the vice-ministers on the diplomatic and security team were replaced.

The President also chose Jeong Young-Shik, a presidential secretary, as vice minister of government administration and home affairs and Yoon Hyong-Kyu, consul general to Osaka, as vice minister of culture and tourism. Lee Hee-Beom, chief of the resources policy office at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, was promoted to vice minister. Lee Kyeong-ho, chief of planning and management office of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Cho Woo-Hyun, assistant construction and transportation minister, were also promoted to vice ministers of their agencies.

Kim Song-Ja, former chairperson of the Seoul Labor Committee, became the first female vice minister as she was tapped for the post at the Ministry of Labor.

Yoo Ji-Chang, a policy advisor at the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), was named vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission and Yoon Jin-Shik, minister at the Korean Representative Office of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was named as the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service. Choi Dong-Gol, former chief of the strategy evaluation team at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was named head of the Military Manpower Administration, while Choi Dong-Kyu, deputy Kangwon provincial governor was appointed as head of the Small and Medium Business Administration. The top post at the National Railroad Administration went to Son Hak-Rae, head of the urban transportation planning team at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, while Kim Byung-Ho, deputy minister for government policy coordination became director of the Central Officials Training Institute. So Kyu-Ryung, assistant agriculture minister, was named director of the Rural Development Administration.

Yun Seung-Mo ysmo@donga.com