Yoon, Jo Sang-jun's Resignation "Personal Reasons... Excessive Workload Not Appropriate to Handle"

NIS States in Press Release "Health Reasons... Personnel Conflict Rumors Groundless"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Seok-yeol stated on the 27th that the reason behind former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Planning and Coordination Director Cho Sang-jun's sudden resignation after just over four months in office is "difficult to disclose due to personal reasons."

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon made this remark to reporters on his way to the Yongsan Presidential Office when asked to provide specific reasons regarding the resignation of Cho, who is known as a close aide.

He added, "(The NIS Planning and Coordination Director) holds an important position, and he felt it was not right to bear the excessive workload, so I accepted it," and said, "If it were a public matter, I could speak about it, but it is a personal issue."

When asked whether a new appointment for the Planning and Coordination Director would be made immediately, he replied, "There was a candidate for the Planning and Coordination Director, and we have already vetted necessary public office candidates, so the work will be connected smoothly." Inside and outside the Presidential Office, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Kim Nam-woo is being strongly mentioned as the likely new NIS Planning and Coordination Director.

Former Director Cho submitted his resignation on the 25th, which President Yoon promptly approved, and he was dismissed on the 26th. During this process, Cho submitted his resignation letter directly to the Presidential Office without informing NIS Director Kim Kyu-hyun.

In political circles, there are rumors of conflict suggesting that the two men clashed over NIS personnel matters and that the Presidential Office accepted Director Kim’s personnel proposal.

Because of this, President Yoon’s repeated references to "personal reasons" and "a private matter, not a public one" are interpreted as a subtle denial of the conflict rumors.

The National Intelligence Service also stated in a press release distributed on the morning of the same day titled "Clarifying the Facts Regarding the Dismissal of the Planning and Coordination Director" that former Director Cho "expressed his intention to resign due to personal reasons, including health issues."

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

During 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 appointment and dismissal authority of the NIS Planning and Coordination Director lies solely with the President, there was no problem with the resignation submission process.

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