S.Korean FM resigns

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 15, 2004

S.Korean FM resigns

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan on Thursday over the controversial criticism of Roh's foreign policy by some ministry officials.

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South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan on Thursday over the controversial criticism of Roh's foreign policy by some ministry officials.

"President Roh has accepted the resignation rendered by ForeignAffairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan," senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs Jeong Chan-yong said in a news release of the Blue House.

Yoon Young-kwan submitted his resignation earlier Thursday, taking responsibility for his subordinate's irreverent remarks against President Roh Moo-hyun.

Jeong cited the failure by the outgoing foreign minister to "properly supervise Foreign Ministry officials on the conflicting foreign policy directions."

"Foreign Ministry officials have failed to effectively implement the independent foreign policy direction of the Participatory Government," Jeong said.

The presidential secretary also denounced the ministry officials for leaking classified information on the government's US diplomacy to undermine it.

Yoon resigned one day after Roh Moo-hyun publicly criticized some officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affair and Trade who made some "inappropriate" remarks about the handling of South Korea-US relations by the president and the National Security Council (NSC).

In a new year press conference on Wednesday, Roh Moo-hyun expressed his dissatisfaction over the ministry, saying "those officials will be replaced so that there will no longer be obstacles to my foreign policy."

And in the same day, the minister announced that its North American Division III Director Cho Hyun-dong will be excluded fromthe South Korean-US Sixth Future of the Alliance Policy Initiativemeeting due to open on Jan. 15-16 in Hawaii, as he is being investigated by the Blue House about his inappropriate remarks.

The NSC is believed to support Roh's stance over Seoul-Washington ties, which calls for more equal and independent relations between the two allies.

Cho and other officials at the North American Division III are reported to have made discontent remarks with Roh and the NSC in private and official meetings.

Source: Xinhua

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