LH President Kim Hyun-joon Announces Resignation... Next Week's Recruitment for Successor President Planned

It was confirmed on the 11th that Kim Hyun-joon, president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), has expressed his intention to step down.

According to the government and the National Assembly on the 11th, Kim directly conveyed his resignation intention to Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, last week. Kim's term was set to last until April 2024, with more than 1 year and 8 months remaining.

LH stated, "The retirement procedures will proceed sometime next week," adding, "After retirement, it is expected that the process to recruit the next president will naturally begin."

Kim entered public service through the 35th Administrative Examination and served as Commissioner of the National Tax Service. He was appointed as LH president last April, becoming the first from investigative agencies to hold the position, shortly after allegations of land speculation by LH employees surfaced.

After taking office, to address the land speculation scandal, he introduced measures such as mandatory asset registration for all employees and established systems to prevent recurrence of real estate speculation and corruption. He also created the LH Innovation Committee and the Active Administration Committee to reform the organization.

However, recently, some employees caused controversy by playing golf during official company business trips, sparking debates over "lax discipline." During last month’s National Assembly government questioning session, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister Won Hee-ryong consecutively expressed regret and announced plans for strict disciplinary actions.

Potential successors include former Sogang University professor Kim Kyung-hwan, who led President Yoon Seok-yeol’s real estate policy design, Konkuk University professor Shim Kyo-eon, and former Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation president Lee Han-jun.

Meanwhile, attention is focused on whether Kim’s resignation will trigger a series of resignations among heads of major public institutions appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration.

Earlier last month, heads of government-funded research institutes, including Hong Jang-pyo, president of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), who designed the Moon administration’s "income-led growth" policy, and Hwang Deok-soon, president of the Korea Labor Institute (KLI) and former presidential office job chief under Moon, resigned in protest against policy disagreements and pressure to step down from the current administration.