Yoon likely to keep PM amid reports of Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a meeting with ministers of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in the de facto administrative city of Sejong on June 20. (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to retain Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to local reports over an imminent Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Han has served in his post since Yoon's inauguration over two years ago. Han has stayed in the post even after he offered his resignation following the ruling bloc's defeat in the April general elections.

The Cabinet reshuffle "will unlikely take place before end-June, and will likely be done after mid-July," a senior official of the presidential office in Seoul was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. The reshuffle will unlikely be a major one, as nominations will "unlikely be announced at once," according to the official.

South Korea's prime minister has the authority to recommend the appointment of ministers or Cabinet members to the president, according to South Korea's Constitution, meaning ministers can be appointed without the National Assembly's consent. However, the nomination of a prime minister requires a majority of votes among those present in the National Assembly, where opposition parties occupy a majority of the seats.

The impending reshuffle comes as a follow-up to Yoon's remarks during his press conference on May 9 that ministers who stayed in their post for more than two years since Yoon's inauguration could be replaced.

In South Korea's Cabinet, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Science Minister Lee Jong-ho, Environment Minister Han Wha-jin, Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho have maintained their posts since May 2022.

By Son Ji-hyoung(consnow@heraldcorp.com)