President Lee Myung-bak replaced five of his nine senior secretaries in a major shakeup of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae Monday ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle scheduled for later this week.
In a decision that appears to reflect Lee's emphasis on economic recovery, Lee named his senior secretary for economic affairs, Yoon Jin-shik, to concurrently serve as the policy chief, a newly created post.
The policy chief is the second-highest office in the presidential secretariat, next only to the chief of staff.
Park Hyung-joon, currently the senior officer to the president for public relations, was named head of political affairs while Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan was promoted to the newly created post of senior secretary for public relations.
Lee appointed his current secretary for political affairs, Maeng Hyung-kyu, as a special political advisor, and former Finance Minister and incumbent head of the presidential council on national competitiveness Kang Man-soo as special advisor for economic affairs.
President Lee had been pressed to revamp his office as well as the Cabinet in order to boost his falling approval ratings and prepare for the "second stage" of his single five-year term that began in February last year.
The cabinet reshuffle is expected to be conducted within this week, affecting prime minister and several ministerial posts.