Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Acceptance of Resignation of Ambassador Lee Jong-seop to Australia... Reported to the President"

Ambassador Lee Jong-seop to Australia is entering the Major Defense Industry Cooperation Chiefs of Mission Meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 28th, listening to remarks by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to accept the resignation of Ambassador Lee Jong-seop to Australia. President Yoon Seok-yeol is also expected to approve this.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Following Ambassador Lee Jong-seop's strong expression of resignation, we reported to the appointing authority, the President, and decided to accept his resignation."

Earlier, Kim Jae-hoon, the lawyer representing Ambassador Lee, announced in a statement that the ambassador had expressed his intention to Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol, requesting to be relieved of his post as Ambassador to Australia.

In the statement, Ambassador Lee said, "I have continuously requested the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gongsucheo) to expedite the investigation," but pointed out, "However, Gongsucheo has yet to set an investigation date."

He added, "Even after the meeting of key defense cooperation mission chiefs concludes, I will remain in Seoul to strongly respond to all procedures until the end," and explained, "Therefore, today I expressed my intention to resign to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, requesting to be relieved of my post as Ambassador to Australia, and asked that it be duly accepted."

President Yoon is also reported to accept Ambassador Lee's resignation on the same day. Since special envoys are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is highly likely that the acceptance of Ambassador Lee's resignation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was effectively approved by the President.

The Presidential Office views that there were no procedural issues in the appointment process of the ambassador, but considering the worsening public opinion ahead of the general election, a political judgment was inevitable.

Ambassador Lee also expressed his intention to focus solely on responding to the investigation without further influencing the ruling party and government ahead of the election. After the controversy surrounding Ambassador Lee led to a decline in the ruling party's approval ratings, many within the ruling camp also expressed the opinion that his resignation was necessary.