Park Geun-hye Names 11 Key Officials

President-elect Park Geun-hye on Sunday announced 11 more nominations for top government posts.

Chin Young, nominee for welfare minister, and Ryoo Kihl-jae, nominee for unification minister, stood out in particular.

Park nominated a key confidant to handle her welfare policies, which will be among the top priorities of her term following inauguration on Feb. 25. Ryoo, a moderate, is likely to seek both engagement and containment policies.

The latest announcement wraps up nominations for prime minister and 17 ministerial posts.

Park has tended to select specialists for government posts, including bureaucrats and academics. Supporters applaud the new officials’ expertise, but critics are concerned that they may be too easily influenced by pressure from heavyweight lawmakers.

However, the published financial assets of five out of the 11 nominated officials show that most own more than two houses and live in the affluent Gangnam area of southern Seoul, with an average of W3 billion (US$1=W1,080) in assets.

englishnews@chosun.com / Feb. 18, 2013 12:00 KST