By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

The incoming administration will close down five of 18 ministries, including the Ministry of Unification and two of four ministry-level agencies, cutting 7,000 civil servant jobs through attrition as part of its creation of a ``small, efficient and pragmatic administration.''

However, the plan has invited a backlash from the pro-government United Liberal Democratic Party (UNDP), which described it as an organizational chart in the 1970s.

UNDP Spokesman Choi Jae-sung said once ``old faces'' are placed in new ministries, Korea would return to the administration that existed under Park Chung-hee, indicating a potential battle during the National Assembly's deliberation of the plan.

President Roh Moo-hyun also expressed skepticism about the plan. There is no hard evidence supporting the effectiveness of a small government yet, he said.

The transition team said the functions of the five ministries and two agencies will be absorbed into other offices. The incoming administration will be the smallest since 1969.

The four other ministries to be disbanded are the ministries of Information and Communication; Science and Technology; Gender Equality and Family; and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

The two ministry-level agencies to be dissolved under the plan are the Ministry of Planning and Budget and Government Information Agency.

Prospects of the passage of the plan at the Assembly are not so good as the UNDP strongly opposes the proposed dissolution of the Unification Ministry, apparently mindful of President Roh Moo-hyun's engagement policy toward North Korea.

Sources did not rule out the possibility of the ministry surviving depending on negotiations between the liberal UNDP and the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP). Lee was elected president on the ticket of the conservative GNP.

The reorganization bill calls for the Ministry of Planning and Budget to be absorbed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. It also envisages a merger between the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Ministry of Information and Communication would be absorbed into the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, while the functions of the Ministry of Science and Technology would be split between the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will manage the functions of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The Government Information Agency ― which conducted a controversial media policy of closing government pressrooms last year ― will be taken over by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The number of departments at the presidential secretariat will also be cut from the current four to one and the number of officials at the Prime Minister's Office will decrease from 624 to 300. Critics say the plan is aimed at consolidating power in the presidency.

``In terms of the number of ministries, the next government will be the smallest one since 1960,'' transition committee Chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook said in a statement.

She continued, ``As part of our aim to move toward a smaller government, we plan to lay off around 7,000 civil servants, including 11 ministers, eight vice ministers and 93 director generals.''

The UNDP spokesman Choi replied, ``There is no way that we will support such irrational changes that are anachronistic and past-oriented.''

Kim Sung-hee, the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) deputy spokesman, said ``The plan focuses solely on pro-business goals, while neglecting women's rights and reconciliation efforts with North Korea.''

The bill on the government reshuffle must undergo a parliamentary vote and a review by a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Roh. President-elect Lee will be sworn in on Feb. 25.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr