Ruling Party's New Blood

President Kim Dae-jung filled three major posts in his ruling Millennium Democratic Party on Thursday, naming incumbent lawmakers from different regions, a factor important in Korean politics.

Mr. Kim named Rep. Park Sang-kyu as the party's new secretary-general, Rep. Namgoong Suek as chief policymaker and Rep. Kim Young-hwan as party spokesman.

Mr. Park, 64, is a two-term lawmaker hailing from Chungju, North Chungchong Province. He is also the party's first secretary-general not of the "Donggyo-dong" faction, the party's most powerful group.

His nomination gave momentum to rumors of a major realignment － a merger between the ruling party and the United Liberal Democrats - since Mr. Park is close to the honorary chairman of the United Liberal Democrats, Kim Jong-pil.

The ruling party, which has 119 seats in the 273-seat National Assembly, needs the 17 seats of the United Liberal Democrats to achieve a majority on the floor.

Mr. Namgoong, 62, was a former minister of information and technology under Mr. Kim from 1998 to this year. Before joining the government, he worked in the private sector for several decades. He was tapped for his expertise in information technology, political analysts said. He hails from Yonggin, Kyonggi Province.

The new spokesman, Mr. Kim, 45, is a former democracy activist. The two-term lawmaker hails from Goesan, North Chungchong Province.

by Kim Ji-soo