S.Korea's Roh Accepts Prime Minister's ResignationSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Goh Kun on Tuesday, setting the stage for a cabinet reshuffle as Roh resumes full duties after his two months in impeachment limbo.
Goh, who served as acting president for two months during Roh's impeachment trial, resigned on Monday as he declined the last of repeated requests from the presidential Blue House to nominate three new cabinet ministers. Having expressed his intention to resign before Roh's impeachment was overturned on May 14, Goh has said such nominations by an outgoing prime minister would not be appropriate. "The president accepted the resignation today," a Blue House official said Tuesday by telephone. The acceptance came after Roh met with Goh before Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the official said. Finance Minister Lee Hun-jai, who is also deputy prime minister in the South Korean cabinet, automatically takes Goh's position as acting prime minister, an official at the prime minister's office said. Roh is expected to nominate Goh's successor at the end of the week, another Blue House official said. Parliament, which begins a new session on June 5, has to approve the nominated candidate. He is widely seen as favoring former provincial governor and a long-time member of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Kim Hyuk-kyuas as Goh's successor. Kim switched to the pro-Roh Uri Party earlier this year and was elected member of parliament in the April 15 election. The opposition GNP has been critical of Roh's expected nomination of Kim, saying Kim's sudden party switch showed he lacked integrity and the skills to serve as prime minister. South Korea's conservative mainstream newspapers criticized the Blue House's handling of Goh's announced resignation and a minor cabinet reshuffle that had been expected this week. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said on Tuesday that the administration's disregard for the constitution triggered Goh's resignation and confusion over cabinet nominations. "Demanding Goh nominate the new cabinet ministers is a blatant attempt to borrow his name, not conduct that respects the prime minister's constitutional power," the Chosun said in an editorial.
The liberal Hankyoreh newspaper, which normally backs Roh, said the Blue House should not rush the selection of a new prime minister and the cabinet reshuffle. © Copyright 2004 Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republication, or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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