South Korea has picked a former vice unification minister to lead a civilian committee to support the operation of an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea, the ministry said Thursday.
   
Kim Nam-sik, who quit his job at the ministry earlier this month, will serve as chairman of the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee starting on Dec. 3, replacing Hong Yang-ho, it announced. Hong, who was also vice unification minister, is nearing the end of his three-year tenure.
   
The ministry will soon inform North Korea of the appointment, a ministry official told reporters later on background.
  

The official said Kim is deemed suitable for the position as he has lots of experience in negotiating with the North and expertise in inter-Korean affairs.
  
Kim's mission will include securing the safety and security of South Koreans in the Kaesong zone and protecting the South's assets there, he said.
   
Kim will also talk with the North about a wide range of administrative issues and ways to improve working conditions as well as how to facilitate the operation of the South's firms there, he said.
  
The unification ministry is apparently mindful of possible criticism of the choice of the retired ministry official rather than an outside figure.
   
The Park Geun-hye administration has previously pledged to reform its style of personnel management.
  
More than 120 South Korean companies employee around 52,000 North Korean workers in the joint industrial park, located just north of the inter-Korean border. (Yonhap)