South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has appointed Namgung Jin to serve as his next Minister of Culture and Tourism, following the nomination of former Minister Kim Han-gill as a candidate in a local parliamentary election.

Namgung, 59, worked previously as senior presidential secretary for political affairs before the President's cabinet underwent a reshuffle on September 7.

Former Minister Kim Han-gill, a novelist-turned-politician who was appointed to the Ministry last year, was known for his interest in film as well as his marriage to actress Choi Myung-kil, awarded Best Actress at the 1994 Festival Des Trois Continents in Nantes for her role in La Vie En Rose.

Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism provides generous financial support to the film industry, but is little involved in the day-to-day workings of film promotion, much of which is taken up by the self-administered Korean Film Commission (KOFIC).