SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye on Friday nominated former prosecutor Chung Hong-won as the first prime minister of her incoming administration.
Chung is the second choice of Park as her transition team head Kim Yong-joon gave up his nomination due to allegations of speculative land investment. The 69-year-old, now a lawyer, served as the ruling party's election nomination head during last year' s parliamentary election.
"I'll assist (Park) in a right and exact way," Chung told reporters after the nomination. "I'm an ordinary man with no brilliant career. What she meant was to value ordinary people highly."
Chung will face a parliamentary confirmation hearing in the coming weeks. The new government takes office later this month.
Park also named former Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo as the chief of the national security office, which the new president plans to establish in the presidential office. The office is expected to act as a control tower on foreign policy and national security issues.
Former Army Chief of Staff Park Heung-ryul was appointed to the presidential security service chief, the post elevated to a ministerial level.
The announcement was the first round of nominations for the incoming administration. The next nomination will be announced after the Lunar New Year holiday that ends on Monday.
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