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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| President’s Choice for South Korea Premier Steps Aside | President’s Choice for South Korea Premier Steps Aside |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — A former justice handpicked to be South Korea’s new prime minister stepped aside on Wednesday, dealing a blow to President Park Geun-hye’s efforts to regroup her government in the wake of a fatal ferry disaster. | |
| Ahn Dae-hee, a former Supreme Court justice whose confirmation hearing had been scheduled for early June in the National Assembly, was appointed by Ms. Park last Thursday to replace the departing prime minister, Chung Hong-won. | Ahn Dae-hee, a former Supreme Court justice whose confirmation hearing had been scheduled for early June in the National Assembly, was appointed by Ms. Park last Thursday to replace the departing prime minister, Chung Hong-won. |
| Mr. Chung offered to resign last month, becoming the highest-ranking official to lose his job as Ms. Park’s government took the blame for the April 16 ferry sinking, which left over 300 people, the majority of them high school students, dead or missing. | Mr. Chung offered to resign last month, becoming the highest-ranking official to lose his job as Ms. Park’s government took the blame for the April 16 ferry sinking, which left over 300 people, the majority of them high school students, dead or missing. |
| Before becoming a Supreme Court justice, the prime minister-designate had served as a prosecutor and built a reputation for fighting corruption among the country’s elite. But a string of revelations has emerged since his appointment that has tarnished his image, particularly the fact that within five months of opening his law firm last year, Mr. Ahn had collected 1.6 billion won, or $1.6 million, in legal fees. | Before becoming a Supreme Court justice, the prime minister-designate had served as a prosecutor and built a reputation for fighting corruption among the country’s elite. But a string of revelations has emerged since his appointment that has tarnished his image, particularly the fact that within five months of opening his law firm last year, Mr. Ahn had collected 1.6 billion won, or $1.6 million, in legal fees. |
| No evidence has emerged that Mr. Ahn did anything illegal to receive that income, but the opposition, raising the notion of corruption, had called on Ms. Park to withdraw his nomination. | No evidence has emerged that Mr. Ahn did anything illegal to receive that income, but the opposition, raising the notion of corruption, had called on Ms. Park to withdraw his nomination. |
| In South Korea, clients willing to pay high legal fees are believed to flock to recently retired senior judges and prosecutors because they are expected to win cases they handle as lawyers, according to the South Korean news media and civic watchdogs of the legal system. Most judges and prosecutors in the country become lawyers soon after retirement, and sitting judges and prosecutors have often been accused of helping their former colleagues or bosses win cases in the first years of their retirement. | In South Korea, clients willing to pay high legal fees are believed to flock to recently retired senior judges and prosecutors because they are expected to win cases they handle as lawyers, according to the South Korean news media and civic watchdogs of the legal system. Most judges and prosecutors in the country become lawyers soon after retirement, and sitting judges and prosecutors have often been accused of helping their former colleagues or bosses win cases in the first years of their retirement. |
| The controversy over Mr. Ahn’s professional history has rekindled the long-running controversy over the alleged practice, one of the public’s most serious grievances against the legal system. | The controversy over Mr. Ahn’s professional history has rekindled the long-running controversy over the alleged practice, one of the public’s most serious grievances against the legal system. |
| “I am sorry for troubling the people with various suspicions about me,” Mr. Ahn said during a nationally televised news conference on Wednesday. “I have decided that if I stayed on as prime minister-appointee, I would be a burden on the government.” | “I am sorry for troubling the people with various suspicions about me,” Mr. Ahn said during a nationally televised news conference on Wednesday. “I have decided that if I stayed on as prime minister-appointee, I would be a burden on the government.” |
| Min Kyung-wook, Ms. Park’s spokesman, said the president was sorry about Mr. Ahn’s withdrawal. | Min Kyung-wook, Ms. Park’s spokesman, said the president was sorry about Mr. Ahn’s withdrawal. |
| When announcing Mr. Ahn’s nomination last week, the president’s office said it hoped that Mr. Ahn would help lead Ms. Park’s efforts to fight corrupt links between government regulators and the industries they help oversee, one of the problems that analysts say has led to safety problems. | When announcing Mr. Ahn’s nomination last week, the president’s office said it hoped that Mr. Ahn would help lead Ms. Park’s efforts to fight corrupt links between government regulators and the industries they help oversee, one of the problems that analysts say has led to safety problems. |
| Investigators of the ferry disaster have revealed violations of safety measures by the ship’s crew and operator, as well as by industry regulators. | Investigators of the ferry disaster have revealed violations of safety measures by the ship’s crew and operator, as well as by industry regulators. |
| The prime minister is No. 2 in South Korea’s government, where the president has executive power. | The prime minister is No. 2 in South Korea’s government, where the president has executive power. |