[Summary] "Don't want to sell the house, so resign? What a slippery eel"… Boiling over at collective resignation of Blue House secretaries in August

On the 7th, Chief Secretary to the President Noh Young-min and 5 Senior Secretaries 'Express Resignation'
United Party's Comment on the Day: "Ultimately Chose the House, a Scapegoating Tactic"
Netizens Criticize Fiercely: "Power is Temporary, Money is Eternal"

Kang Min-seok, Blue House spokesperson, briefing on the resignation of Chief Presidential Secretary Noh Young-min and five senior secretaries belonging to the Secretariat at the Blue House on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Yeonju Kim] As five senior secretaries, including Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, submitted their resignations to President Moon Jae-in, criticism has arisen among politicians and netizens alike.

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, stated at the Blue House Press Hall on the 7th, "They submitted their resignations as a comprehensive acceptance of responsibility for the recent situation."

The senior secretaries who expressed their intention to resign this time are the five under the Chief of Staff: Political Affairs, Civil Affairs, Public Communication, Personnel, and Civil Society senior secretaries.

Earlier, on the 2nd of last month, when a recommendation was issued to multi-homeowners among the Blue House secretaries and above to "dispose of all houses except the primary residence within a month," Chief of Staff Noh faced public backlash for selling his apartment in Cheongju, Chungbuk, instead of his apartment in Gangnam. He was sharply criticized for allegedly "keeping a smart single property."

Kim Jo-won, Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, Kim Oe-sook, Senior Secretary for Personnel, and Kim Geo-seong, Senior Secretary for Civil Society, who also submitted their resignations alongside Chief of Staff Noh, are known to be multi-homeowners as well.

Netizens' reactions to the resignation of Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and five senior secretaries from the Chief of Staff on the 7th. Photo by Online Community

As news of their resignations spread, criticism intensified mainly online.

Articles covering the resignations of the aides received comments such as "Power is temporary, but money is eternal," "Multi-homeowner lawmakers who cannot participate in policy will soon resign," "They resigned just to avoid selling their houses," and "This is almost like an eel-level evasion method."

They also expressed distrust in real estate policies. Netizens commented, "This shows that the real estate policy design itself was flawed," "Isn't Noh Young-min taking responsibility for the real estate measures?" "This proves the policy was absurd," "Since it was a failed policy, they judged it better to protect their assets than power," and "We can predict how the real estate market will turn out."

Politicians also criticized the controversy over their multi-homeownership.

Additionally, Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the United Future Party, said in a verbal comment that day, "Looking at this announcement, it cannot be dismissed as a mere showy scapegoating to barely escape the crisis," adding, "Minister Kim Hyun-mi (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) and Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo, who were responsible for real estate failures, Minister Choo Mi-ae (Ministry of Justice), who led the destruction of democracy and the rule of law, and Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who undermined broadcast neutrality, should have taken responsibility themselves first."

Regarding the multi-homeownership controversy of the Blue House aides who submitted their resignations, Spokesperson Kim pointed out, "'Gangnam two houses' Kim Jo-won, Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, ultimately chose the house. Kim Oe-sook, Senior Secretary for Personnel, who said she could not become a single homeowner because her house did not sell, unfortunately remains a multi-homeowner."

United Future Party lawmaker Hwang Bo-seung-hee mentioned their resignations on Facebook that day, saying, "In the end, the house is the best," and criticized, "They tried to create a 'never-before-experienced country' to curb house prices, but only proved real estate invincibility and then left."

Targeting Kim Jo-won, Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, who submitted his resignation that day, Lawmaker Hwang sarcastically said, "In the end, the house is the best. Was this the reason for the sudden withdrawal of listings yesterday?"

Meanwhile, the Blue House had announced that by the end of August, there would be no multi-homeowners among secretaries and above.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.