South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on Thursday named Labor Minister Yim Tae Hee, a close ally, as his new chief of staff ahead of a planned cabinet reshuffle, according to dpa. The 54-year-old, who headed Lee's presidential campaign, is to replace Chung Chung Kil, who resigned after the ruling Grand National Party's defeat in local elections last month. The elections were regarded as a crucial test for Lee's reform agenda as he enters the second half of his five-year term. Last weekend, Premier Chung Un Chan also offered his resignation after the government failed to get a plan to relocate several ministries from Seoul to Sejong City, a newly developed city 150 kilometres south of the capital, through the National Assembly. It remained unclear whether the president accepted Chung's resignation, who has been in office since September.
