By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak nominated Kim Joon-gyu, a former head of a district prosecutor's office, as the new prosecutor general, Tuesday.
Lee also tapped Jeong Ho-yeol, a law professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, as new head of the Fair Trade Commission.
Kim, 53, retired from his position as head of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office early this month following the nomination of Chun Sung-gwan, his junior, to the post. Chun withdrew from the nomination amid public outcry over his receiving of an "inappropriate" loan from a local businessman in order to purchase an expensive apartment and support his family's extravagant lifestyle.
Kim's nomination came two weeks after Chun's withdrawal.
"Kim is believed to be the best man to help stabilize the prosecution as he is a man of reason and a flexible leader who understands the importance of communication," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said. "We hope he will reform the prosecution to bring it up to a global standard."
Kim is currently serving as a vice president of the International Association of Prosecutors.
Born in Seoul, Kim joined the prosecution 25 years ago after studying law at Seoul National University (SNU).
Jeong, 54, was picked as the nominee for chairman of the Fair Trade Commission for his vast experience with the commission as well as the market, the spokesman said.
"Jeong has a strong belief in the free market system and is a leading expert on fair trade and trade conflicts," Lee said.
Jeong, a native of North Gyeongsang Province, also majored in law at SNU.
He will replace Baek Yong-ho, who took over as chief of the National Tax Service earlier this month.