Lee names new unification minister in Cabinet reshuffle

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak named a close confidant as South Korea's new unification minister handling relations with North Korea in a Cabinet reorganization Tuesday, a replacement that may signal a shift in Seoul's policy on Pyongyang.
New Unification Minister-designate Yu Woo-ik, who previously served as Lee's chief of staff and ambassador to China, will succeed Hyun In-taek, a scholar-turned-minister known for his hard-line stance on North Korea. Hyun was named a special presidential advisor for unification affairs in the announcement.
The replacing of Hyun had been expected as the leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) had strongly called for naming a new minister to help improve the South's long-strained relations with the communist nation.
Tuesday's shake-up also affected three other ministers.
Choe Kwang-sik, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, was named as the culture minister; Rim Che-min, minister of the Prime Minister's Office, as the health minister; and Rep. Kim Kum-lae of the GNP as the gender equality minister, senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo said.
The new ministers will be formally appointed after parliamentary confirmation hearings.
(END)