South Korea's prime ministerial nominee Ahn Dai-hee offered Wednesday to resign as a candidate for the number two government post amid mounting criticism over his excessive salary as a lawyer in the past, media reported.
Ahn, 59, a former Supreme Court justice, was named by President Park Geun-hye May 22 to become the new prime minister as the incumbent offered to step down to take responsibility for last month's ferry sinking disaster, Xinhua reported citing Yonhap News Agency and YTN .
Ahn served as a lawyer at a law firm for five months last year, and purportedly earned 1.6 billion won ($1.57 million) during the five-month period.
The sharp increase in his wealth sparked criticism that he made too much money while practising law as a former Supreme Court justice.