Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said the nominee is the right person to lead South Korea's control tower for disaster management, given his experience in the Navy and Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The president also nominated Lee Song-ho, a vice minister of security and public administration, as the No.2 official of the public safety agency, said Min.

Lee is credited with a successful commando operation in 2011 that saved 21 crew members aboard a South Korean freighter that had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea.

The appointments came soon after the Cabinet endorsed the government reorganization act that created two bodies for public safety. One body is responsible for maritime security and the other handles disaster management.

Earlier this month, the National Assembly passed a bill to dismantle the Coast Guard and the National Emergency Management Agency and placed their roles under the newly created public safety agency.

The president has vowed to upgrade safety standards and end corruption undermining them, deciding to dismantle the Coast Guard for responding poorly to the ferry disaster.

The 6,825-ton Sewol sank off the country's southwest coast on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing.

The tragedy prompted soul-searching in South Korea where safety is often overlooked by regulators in cozy relationships with their former colleagues in the private sector.

Also Tuesday, Park tapped Lee Geun-myun, a former Samsung Electronics official who handled human resources, as head of a new government agency responsible for human resources.

Park nominated eight other ranking officials, including the vice unification minister, head of the antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission and chief of a state arms procurer. (Yonhap)

[Photo Credit : Yonhap]