President Kim Dae-jung picked South Korea's first female prime minister today and replaced six other ministers in a reshuffle seen as a bid to boost the government's image before December presidential polls.
The appointment of Prime Minister Chang Sang, a Princeton-educated former university dean, at the top of a list of largely non-politician technocrats was designed to restore faith in Kim's administration after a spate of scandals.
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Prime Minister Chang Sang
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South Korea's 48 million people will elect a successor to the 77-year-old Mr Kim on December 19th. He is barred by the constitution from seeking a second five-year term.
The chief presidential secretary said Ms Chang, a 62-year-old theologian from outside Mr Kim's party, replaced veteran politician Mr Lee Han-dong in the largely ceremonial prime minister's job.
The defense minister, criticized over last month's naval clash with North Korea, was also replaced in the reshuffle of the 18-member cabinet.
Both ruling and opposition parties and a vocal South Korean media had called for a non-partisan, technocratic cabinet ahead of both the presidential election and by-elections next month for 13 members of parliament that could give the opposition outright control of the National Assembly.
Seoul's financial markets ignored the cabinet overhaul, which left Mr Kim's economic team unchanged. Ministers in charge of foreign policy and ties with North Korea also remained in place.
The ruling party's presidential candidate had sought a line-up untainted by the graft scandals that have ensnared two of President Kim's three sons. They have been indicted on influence-peddling and tax evasion charges.