Cabinet appointees in S. Korea withdraw

Kim Tae-ho, 48, was in line to become the youngest prime minister in 40 years as part of President Lee Myung-bak's attempt to revitalize the Cabinet for the final years of his presidential term, Yonhap news reported Sunday.

Kim, however, was recently shown to have had ties with businessman Park Yeon-cha long before Kim had previously admitted. In December, Kim was cleared of bribery charges involving the businessman when Kim was governor of South Gyeongsang Province.
At a press conference, Kim said, "Without the trust from the people, what would I be able to do even if I do become prime minister?"

Also withdrawing from consideration were Lee Jae-hoon, nominated to become economic minister and Shin Jae-min, nominated to serves as culture minister.

Lee's nomination was upended by revelations about a real estate deal that involved his wife that was said to be speculative, while Shin withdrew after it was learned he had falsified residential records to allow his daughter to attend a different school.

A official with the president's office said the process of selecting new nominees would begin immediately, Yonhap said.

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