By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak replaced four of his eight senior secretaries and created a new post of presidential secretary for public relations in a shakeup of his secretariat Monday.
The reshuffle is aimed at strengthening policy coordination and communication with political parties and a broader spectrum of social groups, Cheong Wa Dae said.
President Lee, who took office one and a half years ago, will also conduct a Cabinet reshuffle by Friday, replacing Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and up to five ministers.
In a move that appears to reflect Lee's emphasis on economic recovery, the President created an office of policy planning and named his senior secretary for economic affairs, Yoon Jin-shik, to head it.
The policy chief is the second highest office in the presidential secretariat, next to the chief of staff, the presidential office said.
"The policy chief will play a role as a de facto deputy chief of staff," said presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, who was also promoted to senior secretary for public relations.
Park Sun-kyoo, a former journalist who had served as secretary for media relations, was named to succeed Lee as presidential spokesman.
President Lee appointed Park Hyung-joon, senior secretary for public relations, as senior secretary for political affairs. Park's predecessor, Maeng Hyung-kyu, was named special advisor for political affairs.
Kang Man-soo, former strategy-finance minister and incumbent head of the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness, was named special advisor for economic affairs.
Monday's shakeup also included a few new faces.
Kwon Jae-jin, 56, a retired public prosecutor, was named senior secretary for civil affairs, and Oh Hae-seok, 58, a computer software professor from Kyungwon University in Gyeonggi Province, was appointed special advisor on information technology.
Chin Young-kon, 52, vice minister of gender equality, was tapped as the new senior secretary for social policy, while Jin Dong-seop, 57, president of the Korean Educational Development Institute, was named senior secretary for education, science and culture.
Lee Hyun-koo, 70, head of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology was appointed special advisor for science technology.
"The reshuffle is designed to create a system that can more effectively assist the President on key economic and social policies," spokesman Lee said. "It also seeks to address voices from the political sector that the President should try harder to listen to public opinion in managing state affairs."
In recent weeks, Lee has pledged measures to stabilize the livelihood of ordinary people and resolve political and ideological divisions to promote national harmony.