Regarding 'Kim Seong-han Resignation'... Opposition Party Launches Continuous Offensive Claiming "Diplomatic Line Discord"

Democratic Party Continues to Claim 'Conflict Theory'
People Power Party Says "No Conflict" to Calm Situation

About a month before President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to the United States, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in sharp exchanges over the replacement of Kim Sung-han, the Director of the National Security Office. The Democratic Party of Korea launched a full-scale offensive by raising rumors of conflicts among the presidential office staff, while the People Power Party focused all efforts on calming the situation.

On the morning of the 30th, Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly, "The presidential office, which should be strategizing overnight ahead of next month's visit to the U.S., has instead become the source of all kinds of rumors," adding, "President Yoon must clearly explain the reasons to completely dispel the growing public concerns."

Kim Sung-han, Director of the National Security Office (Photo by Yonhap News)

Park also emphasized, "There is no division of duties, no protocol, and no system; one cannot help but ask how such a complicated diplomatic chaos will be resolved," and added, "The People Power Party, which avoided the National Assembly's work report and neglected Kim's resignation, cannot easily escape responsibility."

The Democratic Party claimed that the background of Kim's resignation was a conflict with Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office. Kim Min-seok, the chairman of the policy committee, criticized, "They say Kim is strong because he is a close school friend of President Yoon, but how much was he checked by such a strong line that he collapsed like this?" He added, "May 10 marks the first anniversary of President Yoon's inauguration, and although the disastrous diplomacy in just one year is an internal government issue, I hope it does not harm the country."

Woo Sang-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party, also appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that morning, saying, "All the career diplomats are quitting at once, while the non-diplomat lines remain intact," and added, "Then it should be seen that the career diplomat line lost to the non-diplomat line."

The People Power Party is focusing on quelling the rumors of conflict within the presidential office. Kim Ki-hyun, the party leader, met with reporters after the Supreme Council meeting that day and said, "Although the replacement was sudden, I believe President Yoon made the personnel decision with a heavy heart," adding, "My hope is that the party and government operate with a focus solely on public service."

Lee Cheol-gyu, the secretary-general of the People Power Party, responded to related questions on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' saying, "Since this is not a policy issue, the exact reason has not yet been confirmed," but added, "It is not true that there was any conflict."

He further explained, "When he took the position of Director of the National Security Office, he continuously said that once the government stabilizes and relations with the U.S. and Japan normalize, the Korea-U.S. alliance is restored, and the Korea-U.S. cooperation system is established, he would return to academia," and said, "I think he decided to resign after achieving a certain level of results."

Meanwhile, Kim, a childhood classmate of President Yoon and the person who formulated the foreign and security pledges for the presidential campaign, voluntarily stepped down the day before, about a month ahead of President Yoon's visit to the U.S.