PM: Partial Cabinet reshuffle in the works

LONDON, May 28 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Sunday that he's launched discussions with the presidential office about partially shuffling the Cabinet.

Lee made the remark to reporters traveling together with him to Europe, saying the government has already conducted performance reviews of government ministers.

"I don't think it's going to be large in scale," Lee said of a Cabinet reshuffle.

Lee stressed that he's not going to shuffle the Cabinet for political reasons and purposes and that reorganization will be purely based on merit.

"A reshuffle can be done on a limited basis when there is a need for a new way to handle and deal with issues," Lee said.

Lee also said it's "extremely rare" that the government hasn't carried out a Cabinet reshuffle for the past year. That shows that the original Cabinet appointments were good, he said.

South Korean leaders have often used Cabinet reorganization for political purposes, such as diverting public attention away from criticism of the government and regaining public confidence.

Some media reports have said the ministers of justice, national defense, environment and gender equality could be replaced in an upcoming reshuffle as the ministries ranked at the bottom in the performance review.

Asked to confirm the report, Lee said the report "doesn't appear to be exactly correct."

As for the timing of a reshuffle, Lee said it's not right to divert public attention in the run-up to June's local elections, suggesting that it would come after the mayoral and gubernatorial elections.

Lee, who has been on a weeklong trip to Austria and Ireland, made a stopover in London.

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