By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Cheong Wa Dae is expected to replace some cabinet ministers and presidential secretaries in the near future, sources said Friday.
Kim Hyu-jong, presidential secretary for cultural affairs, and Lim Sam-jin, presidential secretary for civil and social affairs, have offered to resign, said a source at the presidential office.
Reports said the presidential office would replace Kim Sung-ho, director of the National Intelligence Service, and Eoh Cheong-soo, commissioner general of the National Police Agency.
Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han is expected to take over as chief of the nation's spy agency, they said.
But Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan denied the reports.
``There has been no formal discussions about the replacement of presidential secretaries or cabinet ministers,'' the spokesman said.
Strategy and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo has also been mentioned as someone who is to be replaced. Kang has been under pressure to step down for what critics see as his misguided and inconsistent economic policies.
He has been sticking to high growth rate, boosting exports and controlling the foreign exchange rate. Critics are, in particular, harsh on Kang's foreign exchange policy. The minister initially advocated a weak won policy to boost exports. But it only added to inflationary pressure as the global economy was suffering from record-breaking oil prices at the time.
He then switched to a strong won policy to pull down an already too high won/dollar rate.