South Korean President appoints new interior, health ministers in cabinet reshuffling

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has appointed Jeon Hae-Cheol of the ruling Democratic Party as the country's new Minister of Interior and Safety and Kwon Deok-Cheol as the new minister for Korea Health Industry Development Institute. According to sources of ANI, Jae-in told the parliament that the two ministers had successfully passed the hearings which confirmed their candidacies. The South Korean President allocated the positions to the new ministers as a part of the planned cabinet reshuffle. 

The National Assembly of South Korea has received the reports on the results of the two candidates' confirmation hearings, Republic of Korea’s executive office, Cheong Wa Dae announced officially, sources of Yonhap news confirmed. In course of the reshuffling of his cabinet, the South Korean leader had earlier replaced four of his ministers, including Kim Hyun-mee, minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT). Presidential senior secretary for public communication, Chung Man-ho declared the 55-year-old Byun Chang-Heun as the new minister of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) at a briefing at Chong Wa Dae, according to Korean Post. Meanwhile, another 58-year-old lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea Jeon Hae-Chul was named the country’s minister of public administration and security. He replaced minister Jin Young.

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Government's 'slumped ratings'

Later in the afternoon briefing, President Moon appointed Kwon Deok-Cheol as the new president of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Chung Young-ae as the director of the Korea Women's Foundation. The South Korean cabinet was reshuffled after reports of flawed housing policies and corruption scandals slumped Moon’s government approval ratings. In an attempt to strengthen the administration and restore the public’s confidence in the governance, President Moon announced cabinet reforms. The ratings were listed by pollster Realmeter, which showed the South Korean leader’s rating declined to 37.5 percent from the previous 43.8 percent. 

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