S.Korean president-elect nominates 8 ministers

SEOUL -- South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday nominated eight ministers for his new government, which is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 10.

Choo Kyung-ho of the main conservative People Power Party was nominated as the minister of economy and finance, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Lee Jong-sup, former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) vice chairman, was named as defense minister.

The president-elect nominated former Jeju Island governor Won Hee-ryong as land and transport minister, and Lee Chang-yang, professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, as trade and industry minister.

Yoon announced nominations for four other ministers, including chief of Seoul National University's semiconductor research institute Lee Jong-ho as science minister, former chief of the Kyungpook National University Hospital Chung Ho-Young as health minister, former vice president of the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper Park Bo-Gyoon as culture minister, and former lawmaker Kim Hyun-sook as minister of gender equality.

A week earlier, Yoon nominated former prime minister Han Duck-soo, 73, as the prime minister of his incoming government.

The prime minister is the only cabinet position that requires parliamentary approval.