Nominee for fair trade commission chief resigns

President Park Geun-hye's nominee for chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) offered to resign on Monday, following a news report that he evaded taxes by holding secret overseas bank accounts.

On March 14, Han Man-soo, a law professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, was named to lead the FTC.

The Hankyoreh Shinmun newspaper reported in its Monday edition that Han has been holding a large amount of money hidden in secret foreign bank accounts to evade taxes.

His resignation dealt a blow to the Park Geun-hye administration as he was the sixth appointee to resign over irregularities or ethical lapses since Park took office a month ago.

Last Thursday, Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui stepped down amid allegations that he was implicated in a sex-for-favors scandal.

Park's prime minister-designate, Kim Yong-joon, was the first to resign over alleged draft-dodging by his two sons.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com