South Korea's commerce minister offered to resign Friday to focus on politics as a ruling party lawmaker.
"I think my role as a minister has been completed," Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Chung Se-kyun told reporters, adding he delivered the resignation offer to President Roh Moo-hyun.
Chung, a veteran politician, was appointed as minister in February.
President Roh, whose term in office expires in Feb. 2008, is struggling to overcome falling popularity amid public perceptions that the administration bungled economic policies.
Kim Young-joo, chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is widely seen as as a possible successor to Chung, officials said. Other candidates are two deputy commerce ministers, Kim Jong-gap and Lee Won-geol, as well as Han Joon-ho, chief executive officer of the Korea Electric Power Corp.
Seoul, Dec. 29 (Yonhap News)
South Korea's commerce minister offers to resign to focus on politics |
