Transition Committee Chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook announces a government restructuring plan at the committee's headquarters in Samcheong-dong, Seoul on Wednesday.

Five ministries -- of unification, of science and technology, of information and communication, of gender equality and family, and of maritime affairs and fisheries -- and two ministry-level offices -- the Government Information Agency and the Ministry of Planning and Budget -- are for the chop.

Cheong Wa Dae will be downsized from one chief of staff, three chief secretaries and 10 senior secretaries to chief of staff, one security chief and seven senior secretaries. The Presidential Secretariat and the Presidential Security Service will be merged into an Office of Presidential Affairs. And the presidential chief of staff, the chief presidential secretary for national policy, and the chief presidential secretary for security affairs will become the presidential chief of staff. The PSS will be downsized as a presidential security office under the Office of Presidential Affairs. There will be a new senior presidential secretary for political affairs. But the office of the senior presidential secretary for public information will be closed and its functions absorbed by the presidential spokesman.

If the plan is approved by the National Assembly, the current 56 central government agencies will be reduced to 43. As a result, a total of 6,951 civil servants will be laid off, with 40 ministerial-level officials to be reduced to 29 and 96 vice ministerial-level officials to 88.

"The incoming administration will be the smallest since 1960 in terms of the number of ministries and offices, and the smallest since 1969 in terms of the number of all central government agencies,” Transition Committee chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook said. “Despite the downsizing, the soon-to-be displaced officials will be guaranteed their status as government employees."

When the committee submits the blueprint to the house by next Monday, the Grand National Party will ask the Government Administration and the Local Autonomy Committee and Legislation and Judiciary Committee to deliberate it, and a house plenary session to pass it on Jan. 28.

Cheong Wa Dae and the outgoing ruling camp, including the United New Democratic Party, have made their strong objection to the merger or closure of the five ministries clear. In the circumstances, some ministries, chiefly the Unification Ministry, may survive after all.

The 13 ministries in the new government will be: planning and finance (the current finance and economy plus planning and budget); human resources and science (education plus some functions of science and technology); foreign affairs and unification (foreign affairs and trade plus unification); justice; defense; administration and safety (a new name for government administration and home affairs); culture; agriculture, fisheries and food (agriculture and forestry plus fisheries functions of maritime affairs and fisheries); knowledge economy (commerce, industry and energy plus some functions of information and communication plus some functions of science and technology); health, welfare and gender equality (health and welfare plus gender equality and family); environment; labor; and land and maritime affairs (construction and transportation plus port functions of the ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries).

Besides, the committee decided to establish two ministers without portfolios who will take responsibility for key national projects, including attracting foreign investments and resource development.

The Transition Committee plans to establish a presidential commission on broadcasting and telecommunications. It also decided to close 215, or 51 percent, of the current 416 government committees.

The new government will not extend the mandate of five out of the 10 current presidential commissions -- the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaborations with Japanese Imperialism, the Truth Commission on Forced Mobilization under Japanese Imperialism, the Presidential Commission on Suspicious Deaths in the Military, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property.

(englishnews@chosun.com )