Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom Resigns Amid Worsening Public Sentiment

[Anchor]

Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom has abruptly resigned. Following the recent cabinet reshuffle involving the replacement of economic ministry ministers, the departure of Kim, the policy command center, is raising forecasts of changes in the government's policy stance.

Reporter Kang Min-u has the details.

[Reporter]

Cheong Wa Dae held an unscheduled briefing this morning (Sept. 1) and announced that Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom is stepping down.

[Kang Yu-jung / Cheong Wa Dae Senior Spokesperson: Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom offered his resignation yesterday, August 31. In response, President Lee Jae-myung accepted his resignation today, September 1.]

This comes approximately one year and three months after he was appointed as the Lee Jae-myung administration's first Cheong Wa Dae policy chief in June of last year.

Chief Kim has spearheaded various policy pending issues, including South Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, the formulation of real estate policies and tax system revisions, the three major mega-projects, and the introduction of single-stock leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

While opposition parties have demanded Kim's resignation, holding him responsible for recent turmoil in the real estate and financial markets, Kim was retained despite the cabinet reshuffle of economic ministers—including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport—the day before yesterday, leading to interpretations that Cheong Wa Dae aimed to maintain policy stability.

However, as public sentiment deteriorated due to recent financial market turmoil stemming from single-stock leverage ETFs, and the downward trend in approval ratings continued—with President Lee's job performance rating dropping for seven consecutive weeks to record the 30% range in various polls—it appears that Kim ultimately stepped down from his post.

Following the recent cabinet reshuffle, the resignation of Cheong Wa Dae's top policy strategist is expected to bring substantial changes to the Lee Jae-myung administration's policy direction.

In addition, with the three-chief system that has been maintained since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration breaking down, a chain movement within the policy line, including the appointment of a successor for the policy chief, is anticipated.

(Camera Cooperation: Ha Ryong, Yoon Hyung | Video Editing: Won Hyung-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.