Follow-on Nomination after Appointing Ministers Unveiled

President Roh Moo-Hyun will pay his respects to the vice ministers and ministers of 17 departments, including the Chief of Police, Head of the National Tax Administration, and a total of 35 people at the vice-minister level.

President of the Police University Choi Ki-Moon is likely to be the Chief of Police, and the Chief of Tax System Choi Kyung-Soo is likely to become the Chief of the Economic Legislation Department.

Planning and Management Chief Shin Dong-Gyu and Assistant Secretary Kim Young-Joo are competing for the position of Vice-Minister of Finance and Economy, and according to general observations, the financially savvy Shin is regarded the superior candidate. Planning Management Chief Byun Yang-Gyun of the Office of Budget is a likely candidate for the position of Assistant Secretary of the Office of Budget Planning.

Deputy Chief Kwak Jin-Up and Director of the Seoul Office of National Tax Administration Bong Tae-Yul have been competing for the position of Director of National Tax Administration, but a judgment for a big change in the National Tax Administration called for employment of an outside influence, and Section Chief Choi Kyung-Soo, who is proficient in national tax affairs, surfaced as the probable candidate at the last minute.

Assistant Secretary of Department of Education and Human Resources will not be included in the public announcement on the 3rd as it will be decided after the Minister of Education is determined, and Vice Minister of Justice will also be determined after the chief public prosecutor is named.

“I am aware that each Ministry will follow its principle of hiring people with the most special and practical abilities, so there are a lot of internal promotions,” President Roh said. “People involved in corruption are excluded without question and there will be no cases where a minister and vice-minister are from the same region,” making it clear that he has considered the question of regional arrangements for minister and vice minister posts.

Meanwhile, with the policy of appointing the new Chief of the National Intelligence Agency in the near future, the Blue House has narrowed down the candidate choices to two or three. Key officers of the National Intelligence Agency with full knowledge of overseas affairs are likely candidates for appointment, as President Roh announced that the new Chief of the National Intelligence Agency will be selected on the basis of practicality.

Jeong-Hun Kim Young-Hae Choi jnghn@donga.com yhchoi65@donga.com