President-elect Park Geun-hye's so-called transition team has reportedly narrowed down a list of candidates for the post of prime minister to just a handful of names.

The prime minister is expected to have a bigger role in the Park administration, as the president-elect has pledged to re-balance power between the nation's two top posts.

In the last two administrations, PM has been a largely administrative post.

With the revived position of deputy prime minister for economic affairs, the prime minister's role is expected to focus mainly on government affairs.

The nominee is widely expected to be someone from outside the ruling party's traditional stronghold of the Gyeongsang provinces, in line with Park's pledge to achieve greater social integration.