By Kim Young-jin


With the G20 Summit just two months away, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan has resigned over the controversial hiring of his daughter as a trade expert at the same ministry.

Though President Lee Myung-bak is expected to wait until an investigation into the case is completed before making his final decision, the resignation raised the question of who might fill the role to replace the nation’s top diplomat.

Yu has been in the hot seat since last week over allegations that his ministry treated his 35-year-old daughter preferentially in naming her to a mid-level post dealing with trade affairs, causing public anger at the news.

“Minister Yu has decided to voluntarily step down as he felt sorry to the people about the backlash the hiring of his daughter has caused,” ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said Saturday.

Yu apologized Friday and said his daughter would not take the job but he maintained that the hiring process had been fair.

His most likely successor appears to be Kim Sung-hwan, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, government sources said. Kim, a career diplomat, served as vice foreign minister before taking the post at Cheong Wa Dae in 2008.

Former Ambassador to Washington Lee Tae-sik and former Ambassador to Russia Lee Kyu-hyung are also said to be on the shortlist for the top diplomatic spot.

The new foreign minister would step into the post at a crucial juncture, as Seoul prepares to host the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in November.

It also comes amid a flurry of speculation over the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea’s denuclearization and persistent inter-Korean tension over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship earlier this year.

Yu’s resignation is not expected to affect Seoul’s foreign policy or its stance regarding the denuclearization talks. The administration has called on Pyongyang to prove its genuine intent to dismantle its nuclear program and show a “responsible attitude” over the sinking of the Cheonan, which went down in March near the inter-Korean maritime border.

The nepotism controversy comes as Lee is promoting a “fair society” as a priority for his administration, an idea he first outlined in his Aug. 15 speech. Three of his Cabinet appointees including Prime Minister-nominee Kim Tae-ho resigned last month after being grilled during parliamentary hearings over ethical violations.