New PM ready to sip more wine to handle Opp. Ex-prisoner elected Moon’s chief of staff
Seoul, May 10: South Korea’s nominee for Prime Minister is a self-proclaimed “makgeolli lover” and vowed on Wednesday to drink more of the Korean rice wine if it will help him work better with opposition parties.
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday tapped Lee Nak-Yon, governor of South Jeolla, to be his Prime Minister, describing him as the “right person to spearhead integration and unity under the new government”.
Mr Lee, 64, is a former veteran journalist and seasoned politician who served four terms as a liberal lawmaker before he was elected governor of his home province.
He promotes traditional Korean rice wine known as makgeolli to encourage consumption of the grain.
“I drink makgeolli often,” he said on Wednesday, adding, “If necessary, I will drink more makgeolli and communicate frequently with the Opposition party.” Seoul, May 10: The righthand man to South Korea’s new President is a former pro-democracy activist who spent more than three years in prison for organising an unauthorised trip to the North.
On his first day in office, Moon Jae-in named Im Jong-seok to be his chief of staff, the second most powerful position in the political system.
Im, a 51-year-old former two-term lawmaker with the Democratic Party, was a prominent student activist in the 1980s and, like Mr Moon, protested against military rule.
Im vowed to create an “open” office compared to the secrecy that surrounded it under ousted leader Park Geun-Hye, and told reporters, “I will serve Mr Moon with all my heart, but will not become a yes man.”