South Korea's foreign minister leaves post over daughter's hiring

Sep 6, 2010, 14:28 GMT

   Seoul - South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan left his office Monday as a government audit found that the ministry had given his daughter preferential treatment in hiring her for a trade post, a news report said.

   Yu, 64, told senior officials at the ministry that he was 'apologetic and regretful' that the scandal had caused problems at the ministry and for his colleagues, the Yonhap News Agency said, citing an unnamed ministry official who attended the meeting.

   As Yu ended his nearly four-decade diplomatic career, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said its audit had found that the ministry had bent its rules and given preferential treatment to Yu's 35-year-old daughter when it offered her a mid-level post last month.

   Two of the five people on the selection panel were from the ministry and rated her far higher than the other three members of the panel, the inquiry found.

   Yu's earlier apology Friday failed to calm public anger over his daughter's selection, and he offered his resignation Saturday.

   Yu's resignation came a week after the man President Lee Myung Bak had selected as prime minister withdrew over corruption allegations and ethical lapses.

   Yu was the longest-serving official in Lee's government. He had been South Korea's top diplomat since the beginning of Lee's term in February 2008.