Presidential Office aides are resigning one after another to run in the National Assembly general election scheduled for April next year. Following recent resignations at the administrative officer level, it is expected that many senior aides at the secretary level and above will also declare their candidacy, prompting the Presidential Office to undertake a reshuffle of its aides in line with the conclusion of the regular National Assembly session.
According to the Presidential Office and ruling party on the 5th, the Presidential Office is working on selecting successors to prevent gaps caused by the resignation of some senior aides. After administrative officers began resigning around the recent Chuseok holiday, senior aides at the chief secretary and secretary levels are also expected to resign after the regular National Assembly session, indicating a major reshuffle of the Presidential Office.
Previously, Lee Seung-hwan (Seoul Jungnang-eul), Lee Dong-seok (Chungbuk Chungju), Choi Ji-woo (Chungbuk Jecheon-Danyang), former administrative officer Kim In-gyu (Busan Seogu-Donggu), Kwon Oh-hyun (Seoul Jung-Seongdong Gap), and senior administrative officer Lee Chang-jin (Busan Yeonje) left the Presidential Office to run in the general election. Subsequently, former administrative officers Heo Cheong-hoe (Gyeonggi Pocheon-Gapyeong) and Bae Cheol-soon (Gyeongnam Changwon Uichang) also resigned, and former administrative officer Jeon Ji-hyun is considering running after leaving Yongsan.
Senior aides likely to run in the general election include Kang Seung-gyu, Senior Secretary for Civil Society, and Kim Eun-hye, Senior Secretary for Public Relations. It is expected that Senior Secretary Kang and Senior Secretary Kim will resign as early as the end of this month or by next month at the latest to run in Hongseong-Yesan, Chungnam, and Bundang-eul, Gyeonggi, respectively. Legal Secretary Joo Jin-woo, who has closely assisted President Yoon since his presidential campaign, and Jeon Hee-kyung, First Secretary at the Political Affairs Office who completed elementary, middle, and high school in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi (Uijeongbu Gap), are also expected to run in the general election. Kim Ki-heung, Deputy Spokesperson and an original member of President Yoon’s presidential campaign, representing Incheon Yeonsu-eul, recently left the Presidential Office as well.
For the successor positions of Senior Secretary for Public Relations and Senior Secretary for Civil Society, spokesperson Lee Do-woon and former Army Academy Superintendent Kim Jeong-su (59, 43rd class of the Korea Military Academy) are the leading candidates for Senior Secretary for Civil Society. Spokesperson Lee, a former editorial writer for Munhwa Ilbo, was appointed in February this year and is known to have a deep understanding of overall state affairs, earning President Yoon’s trust. The Senior Secretary for Civil Society position involves interacting with civil society groups and directly listening to citizens’ complaints, making it unusual for a military officer to hold this post. However, former Superintendent Kim is highly regarded for his active engagement with the Veterans Association and religious communities, as well as his strengths in organizational management.
Along with the reshuffle, there is also talk of replacing the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs. Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Jin-bok is expected to move to a field outside of politics. His likely successor is Han Oh-seop, Director of the National Situation Room, who served as a senior administrative officer in the Political Affairs Office during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Han, considered for the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs position, reported the situation to President Yoon within 10 minutes of the Itaewon tragedy in October last year and is praised for his political judgment and capabilities.
Meanwhile, public officials intending to run in the general election must resign by January 11 next year, which is 90 days before the election day.
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