NIS Director Cho Sang-jun's Resignation "Due to Health and Other Reasons... Personnel Conflict Rumors Unfounded"

NIS: "Various Rumors Are Completely Groundless"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 27th, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) stated regarding the sudden resignation of former Planning and Coordination Office Director Cho Sang-jun that "he expressed his intention to resign due to personal reasons, including health issues."

The NIS announced this in the morning, saying, "We are informing you of the facts related to the dismissal of the Planning and Coordination Office Director."

The NIS also stated, "Regarding the background of former Director Cho's resignation, some media outlets have reported various rumors such as 'internal personnel conflicts,' but we clarify that these are completely unfounded."

Former Director Cho expressed his intention to resign on the 25th, and President Yoon Seok-yeol immediately approved it, resulting in his dismissal on the 26th. During this process, rumors of conflict between the two arose as Cho submitted his resignation letter directly to the Presidential Office without informing NIS Director Kim Kyu-hyun.

At the NIS audit by the National Assembly Intelligence Committee the previous day, committee members questioned the reason for former Director Cho's resignation, but the NIS denied the personnel conflict rumors at that time and conveyed to the committee members that it was due to "personal reasons."

A Presidential Office official also explained to reporters the previous day that since the President holds both the authority to appoint and dismiss the NIS Planning and Coordination Office Director, there was no issue with the resignation letter submission process.

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