Kwon Soon-il, Chairman of the Election Commission, Submits Resignation... "Duty Fulfilled"

Kwon Soon-il, Chairman of the Central Election Commission, is presiding over a plenary meeting discussing the allowance of proportional party names at the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 13th. / Gwacheon = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kwon Soon-il, Chairman of the Central Election Commission, submitted his resignation on the 22nd.

The Election Commission issued a press release in the afternoon stating, "Chairman Kwon decided to resign, judging that he has fulfilled his duties as chairman, as he stated during the confirmation hearing for the Central Election Commission member in December 2017."

Kwon, who took office at the end of 2017, ended his term as a Supreme Court justice on the 7th but announced he would retire after completing internal personnel changes, which drew opposition from the opposition party.

On the 21st, Chairman Kwon appointed Kim Se-hwan, the deputy secretary-general, to the minister-level secretary-general position, and Park Chan-jin, head of the Election Policy Office, to the now-vacant vice minister-level deputy secretary-general position, awarding the appointment letters before submitting his resignation on the same day.

The Election Commission explained that it notified Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo of the vacancy in the commission.