Roh names ‘new brooms’

Following Tuesday’s confirmation of Goh Kun as prime minister by the National Assembly, President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday announced the names of most of his cabinet members. Several nominees, including his choice for deputy prime minister for education, have not yet been announced.
Several of Mr. Roh’s choices raised eyebrows. He broke with traditional respect for age and males to name Kang Gum-sil, a lawyer in her 40s, as justice minister.
Lee Chang-dong, a well-known motion picture director, will be minister of culture and Kim Doo-kwan, the county commissioner of Namhae-gun in South Gyeongsang province, was named as minister of government administration and home affairs.
Perhaps in anticipation of grumbling from miffed older male bureaucrats, President Roh also broke with tradition by briefing reporters on the reasons for his choices. He reiterated that his ministers, most of whom have no strong track record in government administration, are expected to push reforms in their bailiwicks while their deputies will be responsible for keeping the ministries running smoothly. That, he said, was in line with his designation of Mr. Goh, an experienced administrator, to head the cabinet.
Mr. Roh also dismissed concerns about so-called unconventional choices, saying he wanted to put reformers in posts where they are needed.
But Mr. Roh was cautious in his appointments to key economic posts, naming experienced bureaucrats to those positions. Analysts said that was expected to reassure the business community and give substance to his pledge that he would not sacrifice economic growth for more equitable wealth distribution.
Mr. Roh named Kim Jin-pyo, minister of government policy coordination, as deputy prime minister for finance and Park Bong-heum, vice minister of planning and budget, was promoted to minister.
President Roh called Kim Jin-pyo “the most efficient bureaucrat” he has ever known, but some reform-minded academics criticized him as being far too conservative for the post.
Jeong Se-hyun, the minister of unification, will remain at the same job. Yoon Young-kwan was, as expected, named to head the foreign and trade ministry and Cho Young-kil, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be minister of defense.
The new president’s reform zeal was seen most clearly in Ms. Kang’s appointment as justice minister. She is the vice president of the liberal civic group Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and her appointment was seen by many observers as the first step in efforts to clean up the scandal-ridden prosecutors’ office.
Lee Chang-dong, the movie director, will head a ministry that has been criticized for suppressing creativity and diversity in the arts because of heavy-handed censorship attempts.
The average age of Mr. Roh’s cabinet members is 55, four years younger than that of former President Kim Dae-jung’s first cabinet.
Mr. Roh’s cabinet has three members in their 40s; Mr. Kim had named only one. The four women in the cabinet are the largest group of female ministers ever to serve simultaneously.
President Roh said he wanted more time to select the deputy prime minister for education. Trial balloons were floated concerning several possibilities for the post, but they ran into opposition from civic groups and Mr. Roh’s corps of Internet citizen-advisers.

by Choi Hoon