S. Korean police chief offers to resign

(ATTN: ADDS police chief nominee's name at para 4)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's police chief has expressed his intention
to resign from the post, his spokesperson said Saturday, amid predictions that
President Lee Myung-bak will replace the heads of the government's key agencies
in the near future.
"I decided by myself on my resignation. It had nothing to do with the
presidential office," said Eo Cheong-soo, the chief of the National Police
Agency, in the resignation statement released by his spokesperson.
Lee will likely accept the resignation as early as tomorrow and start the process
of filling the post soon afterward, according to presidential officials.
The officials indicated that Kim Seok-ki, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police
Agency, will replace Eo.
On Thursday, Han Sang-ryule, the head of the National Tax Service (NTS), also
offered to step down from his post.
Han is suspected of giving a high-priced painting to the wife of his predecessor,
Jeon Goon-pyo, in early 2007 with the aim of receiving a promotion. He has denied
the allegation.
The president's planned reshuffle targets the heads of the nation's tax,
intelligence, police and prosecutors' offices, according to the officials.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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