Seoul cabinet reshuffle

The reshuffle comes midway through Kim's term

By Caroline Gluck in Seoul

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has announced a major cabinet reshuffle, replacing nine of the 19 serving ministers.

The reshuffle includes new faces at all four of the economy portfolios.

It is aimed at presenting a strong economic team as the government appears determined to push ahead with far-reaching economic reforms.

Almost half the cabinet has been replaced in the shake-up.

New finance minister

One of the key changes is a new finance minister, technocrat Jin Nyum who will replace the current minister, Lee Hun-jai.

The reshuffle is aimed at pushing economic reforms

He has served in government over the past four decades in different economic ministries.

His current position of planning and budget minister will go to the head of the fair trades commission, Jeon Yun-churl, who has been leading the government's campaign to eliminate unfair practices in South Korea's large family-run conglomerates or chaebol.

There are also new ministers for labour, commerce and industry, agriculture, education and maritime affairs.

Hyundai's debts

Protestors have blamed government for unemployment

The reshuffle comes midway through Kim Dae-jung's presidential term and as government-led banks put pressure on the country's largest industrial conglomerate, Hyundai, to restructure.

The group, which is staggering under billions of dollars of debt, only recently avoided defaulting on payments with the help of government-arranged loans.

Hyundai's reluctance to introduce radical reforms is seen as underlying the government's failure to enforce regulations to restructure the insufficient family-controlled chaebol.

The new cabinet line-up reflects the government's determination to take a tougher line with the chaebol and push ahead to implement wide-ranging economic reforms.