Presidential Office: "Jo Sang-jun's Resignation Due to Personal Reasons... Difficult to Disclose Personal Circumstances"

Controversy Over National Intelligence Service Director Passing: "First Confirm the President's Intent Who Holds Both Appointment and Dismissal Authority"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 26th, the Presidential Office stated that Cho Sang-jun, Director of Planning and Coordination at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), who suddenly resigned the day before the National Assembly’s audit, did so for "personal reasons" and that "it is difficult to disclose personal circumstances." This effectively drew a line against political circles’ speculations about conflicts with NIS Director Kim Kyu-hyun or allegations of personal misconduct.

Regarding the claim that Director Kim was informed of Cho’s resignation by the Presidential Office, the office explained that Cho first expressed his intention to resign to the President, who holds the appointment authority, and that the process was normal.

A Presidential Office official met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon and said, "To clear up misunderstandings, I will briefly explain the circumstances of the resignation. Cho expressed his intention to resign to a related secretary at the Presidential Office yesterday. The Presidential Office reported this to the President, who holds the appointment authority, and conveyed the resignation to the NIS Director."

He continued, "As the President accepted the resignation, the NIS Director accepted it and submitted a dismissal recommendation to the Personnel Office. Then, the President approved it last night. The dismissal date is today," he added.

When a reporter said, "Both the NIS and the Presidential Office have only explained the background of Cho’s resignation as personal reasons, but rumors are spreading," the official replied, "Since it is a personal matter, we will not disclose any further details."

Regarding the criticism of "bypassing the NIS Director" because Cho did not report to his direct superior, Director Kim, despite the President being both the appointing and dismissing authority, and the suggestion that there was conflict over personnel matters, the official reiterated, "The President appointed him and also holds the authority to dismiss. Therefore, confirming the intention with the President first is the proper procedure," emphasizing, "The process was carried out according to the procedure I mentioned earlier."

When asked who the related secretary was, the official said, "This is an internal decision-making matter of the national intelligence agency," and did not disclose further information.

In response to a reporter’s comment that "Cho expressed his resignation the day before the NIS audit by the National Assembly, and the dismissal was processed on the same day," the official replied, "It does not appear to be related to the NIS audit."

When asked whether the personal reasons were truly private and if it could be said that there was no connection to personnel conflicts with the NIS Director or sexual misconduct, the official said, "I do not know anything beyond that it is a personal matter."

Regarding speculation that health issues were the cause, the official said, "Health reasons are, of course, personal reasons, and personal reasons are personal reasons. It is inappropriate for us to publicly disclose personal circumstances," refraining from confirmation.

When asked about rampant Yeouido jirasis (informal intelligence reports) mentioning allegations of corruption or drunk driving rumors and whether fact-checking was possible, the official dismissed the question, saying, "It seems very inappropriate to respond based on jirasis."

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