President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday tapped former Navy Adm. Park In-yong to head the government’s new emergency control tower.

The body, tentatively named the National Safety Ministry, has been established as part of the Park Geun-hye administration’s structural reform aimed at improving the government’s ability to respond to disasters and root out corruption.

Changes also include the formation of a lower-level ministry in charge of the government’s human resource management, and the establishment of a new deputy prime minister who will oversee matters regarding culture, education and society.

Park In-yong will head the newly established ministry for national safety, which will be placed under the Prime Minister’s Office as part of the new government restructuring prompted by the April 16 ferry disaster. 

The former Navy admiral, who retired from the military in 2008 after serving as the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dealt with several marine accidents while in command of the Navy’s 3rd Fleet.

Along with Park In-yong, the president tapped former Samsung Electronics official Lee Geun-myun to handle the government’s human resource management, and former vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission Jeong Jae-chan to head the watchdog. 

Lee’s ministry will be tasked with managing the government’s human resources, a job he carried out for Samsung Electronics, and to execute the controversial government employee pension reform.

The safety ministry will absorb the Coast Guard, National Emergency Management Agency and safety-related functions of the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.

The Coast Guard’s investigative role is being transferred to the National Police Agency, but Chinese vessels illegally fishing in Korean waters will be dealt with by the ministry’s marine security unit.

The formation of the ministry, designed to act as the government’s control tower for responding to disasters and accidents, was prompted by the April 16 ferry disaster that caused more than 300 deaths.

Under the safety ministry, a number of special rescue corps will be established to respond to situations on land and sea.

Along with Wednesday’s government reorganization, the president also named eight deputy minister-level officials.

Former second deputy chief of the defunct Ministry of Security and Public Administration Lee Sung-ho has been selected as the deputy of the new safety ministry, while Jo Song-rae and Hong Ik-tae have been tapped to head the ministry’s emergency response division and maritime security and safety divisions, respectively.

Jo had served as the second in command at that National Emergency Management Agency, while Hong held the post of deputy commissioner of the National Police Agency.

Other deputy minister-level officials named Tuesday include Hwang Boo-gi and Jung Jae-geun as deputy ministers of unification and public administration, respectively, and Chang Myung-jin as head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)