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Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has resigned over the outcry that followed his golf outing with a group of troubled businessmen on March 1, one of Korea¡¯s most solemn national holidays and the start of a crippling rail strike. President Roh Moo-hyun accepted Lee¡¯s resignation after consulting ruling Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young, who told him Lee must go, presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said.
Lee met with Roh immediately after the president returned from a three-nation Africa trip, when the premier tendered his resignation and apologized for the trouble caused by his ¡°careless behavior,¡± according to Kim.
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Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan gets in a car to head for Cheong Wa Dae after a Cabinet meeting in Sejongno, Seoul on Tuesday morning.
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The president was briefed on the findings of Cheong Wa Dae¡¯s investigation into the scandal by Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Moon Jae-in before a meeting with Chung.
Lee¡¯s golfing trip aroused widespread condemnation after it emerged that some of his golfing partners are under investigation for irregularities and may have tried to lobby the premier.
Cheong Wa Dae said Lee would resign after recommending a new environment minister since the incumbent, Lee Jae-young, has also tendered his resignation ahead of the May local elections. That means Lee is unlikely to surrender his post on Wednesday
The presidential spokesman said Cheong Wa Dae will take time to appoint a new prime minister, hinting that Deputy Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting prime minister until after the local elections. A government official said the president apparently wants to name a new premier after the election to take the results and their implications for the government into account.
Chief presidential secretary Lee Byung-wan also quoted Roh as urging prosecutors to carry out a thorough and rapid investigation of the scandal.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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