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UNCLAS SEOUL 000297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KN KS
SUBJECT: CABINET REFORM PLAN AT A STANDSTILL 
 
 
¶1. With the Cabinet reform bill set to cut the number of 
ministries from 18 to 14 stalled at the National Assembly, 
the Transition Team and the GNP are planning to announce the 
Cabinet lineup February 15.  The list is said to be almost 
final, although there may be some additions depending on how 
final negotiations with the UNDP unfold.  The new Cabinet 
will likely feature bureaucrats, academics and businessmen; 
there will not be many politicians because they will want to 
contest the April 9 National Assembly elections.  Hoping to 
force Lee to relent and take another ministry off the 
chopping block, the UNDP has refused to pass the reform bill. 
 Lee has countered by threatening to recant on the previous 
agreement to save the Ministry of Unification.  Indications 
all point to the new government following through with the 
plan to streamline government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------- 
STATE OF THE "CHICKEN GAME" 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. The Cabinet restructuring plan is currently stalled at the 
National Assembly, with the Transition Team and the GNP 
efforts to strike a deal with the UNDP failing thus far.  In 
addition to negotiating to secure the survival of the 
Ministry of Unification, the UNDP is attempting to keep the 
Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries and the Ministry of 
Gender Equality & Family.  President-elect Lee Myung-bak 
called UNDP chairman Sohn Hak-kyu February 12 to try to break 
the deadlock and said, "Should we be unable to strike a deal, 
we will have no option but to return to our original plan (of 
scrapping MOU along with other ministries)."  President-elect 
Lee's subsequent proposal to meet with Sohn on February 14 
was rejected by Sohn. 
 
¶3. In order to press the UNDP, the President-elect will 
announce a near-final list of Cabinet appointments on 
February 15.  The appointment list, albeit partial, will be 
submitted for a confirmation hearing motion in the National 
Assembly.  Mindful of a possible backlash if the UNDP is 
perceived as disrupting the launch of Lee's Cabinet, Sohn 
said, "I cannot deny feeling politically burdened (to 
compromise), with the April elections coming up." 
 
----------------------- 
LIKELY CABINET NOMINEES 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. Key Transition Team officials have been quoted as citing 
the following as the likely picks to fill the Cabinet: 
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Ambassador to Japan, a 
veteran career diplomat, and former Blue House Foreign 
Advisor during the Kim Young-sam Administration; National 
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, former Joint Chiefs of Staff 
Chairman and acknowledged as responsible for persuading the 
U.S. to postpone the OPCON transfer timing from 2009 to 2012; 
Knowledge & Economy Minister Lee Yoon-ho, current Vice Chair 
of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI); Justice 
Minister Kim Kyung-han, Former Vice Justice Minister; 
Education & Science Minister Euh Yoon-dae, former Korea 
University president; Culture Minister Yoo In-chon, 
actor-turned-professor who played the part of young Lee 
Myung-bak in a popular TV drama series in 1995 and actively 
involved himself in Lee's campaign last year; Environment 
Minister Park Eun-kyung, Korea YWCA Chairwoman who is an NGO 
activist; Health, Welfare & Women's Affairs Minister Kim 
Sung-yi, professor at Ewha Women's University and former 
chair for the Youth Protection Commission; Agriculture, 
Fisheries & Foods Minister Chung Un-cheon, chairman of the 
Agricultural CEOs' Association; Budget Planning & Finance 
Minister Kang Man-soo, former Vice Finance & Economy Minister 
and current Economic Subcommittee Chief at the Transition 
Team; Government Administration & Safety Minister Won 
Se-hoon, former Vice Mayor of Seoul; Homeland & Maritime 
Affairs Minister Chung Jong-hwan, former Korea Railway 
Administration Chief; Labor Minister Lee Young-hee, former 
chairman of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice who 
currently advises the President-elect on labor issues; and 
Minister Without Portfolio Nam Joo-hong, professor at Kyunggi 
University. 
 
¶5. If the list becomes final, as most pundits expect it will, 
the new Cabinet will feature relatively older and seasoned 
experts, with ten out of 14 nominees in their 60s.  The 
Cabinet is also more regionally balanced in terms of 
appointees' hometown.  While their career backgrounds vary 
across the public and private sectors, academics still 
remained a strong force, as was the case with the Blue House 
senior secretaries.  Five of the 14 candidates are 
Ph.D.-holders, three of whom earned degrees at U.S. schools. 
Notably absent are career politicians, because they would 
have to give up contesting the upcoming National Assembly 
election.  If they wait and win a seat in April, they will be 
able to hold to their seats and serve in the Cabinet.  A 
no-brainer for politicians because the average term of a 
cabinet official is barely one year. 
VERSHBOW