South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Tuesday replaced Health Minister Moon Hyong-Pyo, who was widely blamed for the government’s poor response to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that killed 36 people. Hyong-Pyo stepped down after apologizing to the public for the anxiety caused by the biggest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, and was replaced by Chung Chin-Youb, a Seoul National University hospital professor, the president’s office said, NDTV reported.
The cabinet change came a week after South Korea declared an effective end to the MERS outbreak, with one patient still undergoing treatment in hospital. No additional MERS infections have been reported since July 4, but World Health Organization standards call for a four-week waiting period after the last MERS patient fully recovers, before declaring the outbreak definitively over.
