The Blue House named Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong as finance minister and deputy prime minister. Yim, who replaces incumbent minister Yoo Il-ho, has been well-regarded by policy-makers and market participants in his current role.
Kim Byong-joon, a senior presidential secretary during former president Roh Moo-hyun's administration, is expected to replace Hwang Kyo-ahn as prime minister. The prime minister's role in South Korea is largely administrative and requires parliamentary approval.
Appointing Kim, who has a reputation as a liberal, appears to be a bid by the conservative Park to placate the opposition and soothe public anger over the scandal involving Park's friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is in custody and under investigation by prosecutors.
