Yoon unlikely to reshuffle Cabinet immediately after vacation

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a welcoming speech during the opening ceremony of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, about 180 km southwest of Seoul, on the night of Aug. 2, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Yoon-Cabinet reshuffle

Yoon unlikely to reshuffle Cabinet immediately after vacation

SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is unlikely to carry out a Cabinet reshuffle immediately after returning from vacation this week, as he focuses on handling the response to the heat-plagued World Scout Jamboree, officials said Monday.

Yoon is currently on a weeklong summer vacation until Tuesday, and there was speculation he would conduct a minor reshuffle, including the nominations of a new industry minister and a new science minister, upon returning to work.

But a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency that Yoon mainly worked on handling the response to the Jamboree during his vacation and plans to receive additional related briefings from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min later in the day.

Yoon earlier instructed the government to provide unlimited air-conditioned buses and refrigerator trucks to protect young participants of the World Scout Jamboree from the scorching heat wave at the Saemangeum camp site, a reclaimed wetland on the southwest coast.

Over the weekend, thousands of attendees from Britain, the United States and Singapore left the campsite over health concerns.

Yoon is likely to oversee the government's response until the event's conclusion on Saturday, and has reportedly given instructions to beef up safety measures ahead of Typhoon Khanun's arrival forecast for later this week.

Meanwhile, the justice ministry will brief Yoon later this week on potential beneficiaries of the special presidential pardons expected on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

A senior ruling camp official said the list is likely to exclude politicians and comprise mainly businesspeople and ordinary citizens convicted of petty crimes.

Yoon will also begin preparing for his trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida scheduled for Aug. 18 at the Camp David presidential retreat in the United States.

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