Pres. Lee Appoints 3 New Ministers
President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday appointed three Cabinet ministers.
After his summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, the president gave letters of appointment to Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man, Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Jang Tae-pyoung, and Minister for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Jeon Jae-hee.
Their predecessors were dismissed in the wake of weeks of anti-U.S. beef protests.
A presidential aide said President Lee had to go ahead with the appointment of the new ministers, bypassing parliamentary confirmation hearings, after the National Assembly missed the July 30th deadline for the hearings.
Parliamentary deadlock is expected to intensify, as opposition parties are protesting the appointment and calling for the creation of a special committee to review the new ministers.