After struggle on procedure, Goh appointed prime minister

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After struggle on procedure, Goh appointed prime minister

Goh Kun was approved by the National Assembly yesterday as the first prime minister of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
Of the 272 lawmakers, 246 attended the voting; Mr. Goh was approved by 163 to 81. Two votes were counted as invalid. The appointment needed majority approval from a quorum of 50 percent plus one.
The vote followed struggle between the opposition and ruling parties over an earlier vote to authorize an independent counsel. The majority Grand National Party passed the bill alone over a boycott by the Millennium Democrats. The MDP considered shunning the prime minister vote, too, but soon returned to the floor.
The Blue House is expected to announce its new cabinet today.
A native of Seoul and a graduate of Seoul National University, Mr. Goh, 65, is a veteran bureaucrat. He has been prime minister and Seoul mayor in past administrations, as well as transportation, agriculture and home affairs minister. He has also been governor of South Jeolla province.
Mr. Goh is the fourth prime minister to be reappointed to the post; Chang Myon, Paik Too-chin and Kim Jong-pil have previously served twice as prime minister.
“Participatory government will achieve reform within stability,” Mr. Goh said after the vote. “I will do my best to work on many pending national tasks.” He promised to build a reliable and effective disaster prevention system, adding that he would provide early and sufficient support to the recovery work on the recent Daegu subway arson, and compensation to the victims.
The new prime minister promised to revive the economy and improve inter-Korean relations in order to build a foundation of hope for Koreans.
The GNP sent a somewhat stiff congratulatory note. “Mr. Goh must not forget that the nation demands ethics as well as administrative capability,” GNP spokesman Park Jong-hee said. “We anticipate that Mr. Goh will check and balance the president and administer the cabinet properly. If the new prime minister works for our country, rather than for the Roh administration, we will do our best to cooperate.”


by Ser Myo-ja
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