South Korean premier offers resignation

Jul 29, 2010, 15:51 GMT

   Seoul - South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Un Chan offered his resignation Thursday over the government's failure to get parliamentary approval to block the planned relocation of part of the administration, news reports said.

   Chung, 64, a strong supporter of President Lee Myung Bak, was named premier in September, but was unable to get support for the government's plan to stop the move.

'I am now stepping down from the post of prime minister, taking all responsibility and fault,' he was quoted as saying by South Korean Yonhap News agency.

President Lee Myung Bak had decided to accept his prime minister's resignation, Yonhap said, citing sources close to the president's office, although he has turned down such offers from Chung in the past.

Mid-term reshuffles are not unusual in South Korea, where the most decisions are taken directly by the president.

Lee's government wanted to scrap the previous administration's plan to relocate half the ministries to Sejong, a new town under construction south of Seoul.

Chung, an economist by training, was responsible for getting the parliament to accept turning Sejong into an education, science and business hub instead, to avoid the cost and confusion of the relocation.

But the National Assembly a month ago voted against the plan, which did not even enjoy the full support of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP).

Chung said he regretted that he had been unable to stop the relocation plans, and would remain in office until a successor is chosen, Yonhap said.

He waited before tending his resignation for the results of Wednesday's parliamentary by-elections, in which the GNP took five of eight contested seats.

The gains did not significantly change the balance of power in the Assembly, but provided a boost to the party after a swingeing defeat in regional elections in early June.

The GNP currently holds 172 of 299 parliamentary seats.

After Chung's departure, a cabinet reshuffle was widely anticipated in the second week of August, the report said.

GNP spokesman Cho Hae Jin thanked Chung for his service. 'He has worked hard to oversee main state affairs, including the Sejong City project,' he was quoted as saying. 'It's regrettable that he came to tender his resignation.'

The main opposition Democratic Party welcomed Chung's resignation, saying the country could no longer accept a prime minister who 'divides public opinion,' spokesman Noh Young Min told Yonhap.