Resignation of Hankyoreh Editor-in-Chief over 'Kim Man-bae Money Deal'... Early Departure of Management

"The Fundamental Reason for Hankyoreh's Existence Is Being Denied"... Authority Transfer Next Month
Report on Additional 300 Million Won Inflow Beyond 600 Million Won to Editorial Executive A

Apology from Hankyoreh Newspaper. Photo by Hankyoreh Newspaper website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The management of Hankyoreh Newspaper has expressed their intention to resign early in connection with an editorial executive's financial transactions with Kim Man-bae, who has been identified as the mastermind behind the Daejang-dong development project. This follows the resignation of the editor-in-chief as a subsequent measure.

On the 9th, Kim Hyun-dae, CEO of Hankyoreh, stated in a message to employees, "The CEO election is scheduled for early February. On the day the winner is confirmed, I will transfer all my authority as CEO to the new candidate and resign."

According to CEO Kim, registered directors Baek Ki-cheol, the editor, and Lee Sang-hoon, the executive director, will also resign together. Kim said, "We will only fulfill the minimum legal responsibilities necessary for the operation of the corporation, such as holding the shareholders' meeting to appoint the new CEO." This means they intend to step down earlier than the usual practice of exercising authority until March even after a new CEO is appointed.

Regarding the financial transaction scandal, CEO Kim said, "The trust that Hankyoreh has cherished most is collapsing in an instant. Our very reason for existence is fundamentally being denied," adding, "As a representative of Hankyoreh, I must take the greatest responsibility and be the first to kneel and reflect."

Earlier, Editor-in-Chief Ryu Yi-geun resigned from his position, taking responsibility for failing to properly manage editorial executive A, who conducted financial transactions with Kim Man-bae. He stated, "I appointed an inappropriate person to an important position and failed to detect problematic behavior in advance, causing irreparable damage to the company," and declared, "I will step down from my position as of today."

Accordingly, Hankyoreh will operate with Jeong Eun-ju, head of content, acting as the interim editor-in-chief for the time being.

Hankyoreh revealed that editorial executive A had financial dealings with Kim Man-bae, who was a reporter for another company in 2019, and excluded A from duties while posting a public apology on its website on the 6th.

Hankyoreh explained that A claimed to have "borrowed 600 million KRW but has already repaid about 200 million KRW and expressed the intention to repay the remainder to Kim," and announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to uncover the truth.

Furthermore, based on the facts revealed so far, the personnel committee plans to proceed with disciplinary action against A.

Meanwhile, some media outlets reported on the 8th that during the prosecution's tracking of Kim's funds, there is evidence that an additional 300 million KRW, beyond the known 600 million KRW, was also transferred to A.