With President Park Geun-hye expected to carry out a Cabinet shake-up this week, rumors continued to swirl Sunday around a potential new presidential chief of staff and other ranking officials.

The nominees will likely be named shortly after a parliamentary vote scheduled for Monday on whether to endorse the embattled former ruling party floor leader Lee Wan-koo as the new prime minister. A handful of ministers are likely to be replaced, including the ministers of oceans and fisheries; unification; and land, infrastructure and transportation.

The reshuffle is intended to display Park’s resolve to strengthen her administration and refocus on pressing political and economic tasks, Cheong Wa Dae officials say. They are also seen to be hoping to boost Park’s approval ratings, which have hit all-time lows in the wake of a presidential document leak scandal, purported influence peddling by past and incumbent aides, and other policy about-faces and mishaps.

“There will be a shake-up including of the Cabinet after the nomination is settled,” presidential spokesperson Min Kyung-wook said. “I hope it will be handled smoothly and favorably so that we can concentrate on state agendas at hand.” 

Public sentiment is likely to hinge on the incoming presidential chief of staff, as Park has taken much flak since hiring Kim in October 2013 yet repeatedly defied relentless pressure to sack him.

The 76-year-old former justice minister and three-term lawmaker is known for his decadeslong loyalty to the Park family and credited with helping to consolidate her rule. In contrast, he has consistently been pointed to as the main culprit behind an ongoing series of botched nominations for core government positions, as well as a ferocious power struggle within the upper echelons of the social ladder.

As her latest choice for the premiership yet again triggered an unexpected uproar, the conservative president would have little choice but to cave to the pressure and let Kim go in order to facilitate her critical third year at Cheong Wa Dae, observers say.

Rep. Yoo Seong-min, the newly elected floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, also called for a “bold” personnel reshuffle at a recent news conference, citing “the people’s strong demand.”

At the top of the nominee list is Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se, who is set to be replaced soon by Kim Jang-soo, former chief of the presidential national security office and defense minister.

Kwon, 56, served three terms as a Saenuri lawmaker. He played a key role in the victories in the 2012 general election as the party’s secretary-general and in the presidential vote later that year as situation room chief.

His age may make him part of a “new, young breed” compared with a multitude of other presidential aides in their late 60s or 70s whose ties with Park date back decades. Yet the former prosecutor would hardly be safe from criticism of being yet another “revolving door” appointee or lingering controversy over his possible role in the National Intelligence Agency’s alleged interference in the presidential election.

While his name has been floated for the next unification minister post, Kwon told reporters in Beijing that he was considering running for a fourth term in the Yeongdeungpo-B constituency in April 2016.

Hyun Kyung-dae, a five-term former lawmaker and the current executive vice chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, is believed to be another chief of staff contender. But critics say the 76-year-old former prosecutor is unfit for the job because he is too old and disinclined to embrace reform, as a member of the “group of seven,” consisting of mentors who mostly began their careers in the era of her father and longtime strongman, Park Chung-hee.

Other candidates include Hur Nam-sik, a former Busan mayor; Kim Byung-ho, chairman of the Korea Press Foundation; and Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.

Hur has been screened for a key position since Park’s swearing-in and may be tapped as minister for land, infrastructure and transport, according to news reports.

As a potential new point man on inter-Korean affairs, Kim Kyou-hyun, vice chief of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae, appears to be in with a shout, alongside Kwon and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the Saenuri Party.

Rep. Yoo Ki-june, chairman of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and unification committee with a constituency in Busan, is deemed a likely successor of Lee Ju-young, who stepped down in December as minister for oceans and fisheries.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)