Kim Dae-gi "Before accepting Kim Seung-hee's resignation over 'child school violence,' verify whether dismissal without notice is restricted"

National Assembly Steering Committee, Presidential Office Audit
Director Kim "Requesting Confirmation from Police, Prosecutors, and Board of Audit"

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, stated on the 7th that he requested the police, prosecution, and Board of Audit and Inspection to check whether there are any criminal procedures that can restrict resignation with honor for Kim Seung-hee, former Protocol Secretary of the Presidential Office, who resigned without internal disciplinary action amid controversy over 'covering up school violence involving her child.'

This was to clarify that President Yoon Suk-yeol's acceptance of Kim's resignation did not involve any illegalities.

During the National Assembly's National Assembly Steering Committee's audit of the Presidential Office in the afternoon, Rep. Yoon Young-duk of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that "According to the State Public Officials Act, resignation should not be allowed when an investigation or prosecution agency is investigating or prosecuting misconduct," implying that the acceptance of the resignation was hasty.

Chief of Staff Kim responded, "The spokesperson's statement at the time that 'the resignation was immediately submitted and accepted' was somewhat inaccurate," adding, "(President Yoon) accepted the intention to resign, and afterward requested the police, prosecution, and Board of Audit and Inspection to verify whether there are criminal procedures that can restrict resignation with honor for former Secretary Kim."

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, adjusts his glasses during the National Assembly's inspection of the Presidential Secretariat, National Security Office, and Presidential Security Service held by the National Assembly Steering Committee on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim also said, "The next day was President Yoon's (Saudi Arabia and Qatar) trip, so the resignation was accepted around 8 p.m."

Earlier, Rep. Kim Young-ho of the Democratic Party raised allegations of Kim Seung-hee's child’s school violence cover-up during the National Assembly Education Committee audit on the 20th of last month, and Secretary Kim voluntarily resigned that day. This was seven hours after Rep. Kim Young-ho first raised the related allegations and about four hours after the Presidential Office's Office of Public Service Ethics began a fact-finding investigation.

At the time, Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, stated, "The Protocol Secretary (Kim Seung-hee), who was accused of her child's school violence today, felt a deep sense of responsibility as a parent and submitted her resignation to avoid burdening the government affairs, and it was immediately accepted."