Top South Korea officials replaced in Moon Jae-in government

Aug. 31 (UPI) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's relatively new administration is becoming synonymous with high turnover, as more women appointees are either being replaced or resigning after a year of service.

Seoul's Labor Minister Kim Young-joo, one of the few women in government to occupy a high position, publicly disclosed her decision to "resign" on her Facebook page, the Korea Times reported Friday.

Kim has weathered several controversies as the Moon administration introduced a 52-hour workweek and raised the minimum wage. The latter policy drew the ire of small to medium-sized South Korean businesses.

In her Facebook post, Kim, a former high school basketball player, said that in life, as in basketball she had "run at full speed during the first half of the game."

"If a player who ran hard in the first is exhausted, for the sake of victory the coach will rotate in a player on reserve," Kim wrote. "This is sports, and this is life."

Kim's statement appears to be referring to the Moon administration's decision to replace her with a newly appointed labor minister, Lee Jae-gap, who heads the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, according to the Korea Times.

Earlier in her career, Kim was involved in a labor union that fought to end discrimination against women employees at banks.

Kim's resignation comes only a day after the South Korean government decided to replace the head of Seoul's economic statistics agency, also a woman.

The JoongAng Daily reported Hwang Soo-kyeong is being replaced after the administration found issues with her "unfavorable reports" about the economy.

Her bureau produced the "worst jobs report in eight and half years."

The JoongAng reported critics are blaming the Moon administration's income-led growth policy.