South Korea's Roh nominates ex finance minister as PM

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

SEOUL, Mar 9 (Reuters) South Korea's embattled President Roh Moo-hyun nominated today a former finance and trade minister to be what will likely be his prime minister for his final year in office, the presidential Blue House said.

Harvard-educated and seasoned bureaucrat Han Duck-soo, 57, was the country's top economic planner who steered Asia's third-largest economy through a multi-year slump in domestic demand before stepping down in July.

Han, if approved by parliament, will succeed Han Myeong-sook, South Korea's first woman prime minister who returned to her ailing, liberal Uri Party to help boost its chances ahead of December's presidential election.

Executive power is vested in the president in South Korea, who serves for a single five-year term. Prime ministers, who are charged with managing domestic politics with little real power, have a history of being short-lived.

REUTERS SY SSC1342

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