First Female PM Appointed

President Kim Dae-jung yesterday appointed Chang Sang, president of Ewha Womans University, as the new prime minister in a replacement of outgoing Prime Minister Lee Han-dong and replaced ministers.

This is the first time in the nation`s history to name a female prime minister. The official appointment of the acting prime minister will be confirmed at the end of this month at the earliest.

In the Cabinet shakeup, the president appointed Kim Jung-gil as Justice Minister, Lee Jun, former chairman of the National Defense Reform Committee as Defense Minister, Kim Sung-jae, chairman of Korean Research Foundation as Culture and Tourism Minister, and Kim Jin-pyo, senior presidential secretary for policy and planning, as head the Office of Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister`s Office.

The Cabinet reshuffle this time is the third of its kind this year.

Former army General Kim Suk-jae and Choi Jong-chan, 52, former vice planning and budget minister were named as chairman of the Emergency Planning Commission and senior presidential secretary for policy planning respectively.

Park Jie-won, presidential chief of staff, said, ¡°Women hold the key to the fate of the country in the 21st century. That is the reason the government appointed a female prime minister for the first time in history. Prime Minister nominee Chang is the right person for the post since she is not only a scholar but also a business leader with the experience as president of a university." Earlier, outgoing Prime Minister Lee recommended Chang as his successor to President Kim.

Chol-Hi Lee klimt@donga.com