President Lee Jae-myung approved the dismissal of Cheong Wa Dae Chunchugwan Director Kim Sang-ho today (August 11), who has been embroiled in controversy over an unauthorized building extension.

Previously, Director Kim offered to resign around the time of the reshuffle of the Cheong Wa Dae Senior Secretary for Public Relations in June, and it was reported that he recently submitted his resignation formally.

In addition, an SBS report revealed that the first floor of a multi-family housing unit in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, owned by Director Kim, was illegally remodeled for residential use and has been generating rental income.

Director Kim issued a statement explaining that he was unaware of the unauthorized extension at the time of purchase and only became aware of it while searching for a tenant.

Earlier, while the dismissal procedures for Director Kim were already underway, Cheong Wa Dae stated that as the controversy emerged, because Director Kim became aware of the unauthorized extension afterward but failed to rectify it, they decided to dismiss him following disciplinary action.

(Photo: Yonhap News)