'Average tenure of presidential aides is 14 to 18 months'

Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom briefs reporters at the Chunchugwan in April. [Yonhap]
Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom briefs reporters at the Chunchugwan in April. [Yonhap]

Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday that the average tenure of presidential aides is "14 to 18 months," and asked the public to view the departure of Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom as "a personnel reshuffle aimed at providing smooth momentum for policy implementation — not a particularly unusual situation no matter which aide is replaced."

A Cheong Wa Dae official made the remarks to reporters at the Chunchugwan on Tuesday.

Earlier that morning, Chief Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung announced in a briefing that Kim had submitted his resignation Monday and that President Lee Jae Myung accepted it Tuesday. Kim, who served as the Lee administration's first policy chief, stepped down after roughly 15 months in the role.

Political observers inside and outside the government have suggested the move amounts to a de facto reprimand over confusion surrounding the administration's economic and real estate policies. Kim had drawn criticism, particularly from the opposition, for aggressively pushing through the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs, which critics blamed for unsettling the stock and financial markets.

However, the Cheong Wa Dae official repeatedly emphasized the average tenure of presidential aides and denied that Kim had been dismissed.

The official said that at a press meeting in June — marking the first anniversary of President Lee's inauguration — questions had been raised about a Cabinet reshuffle, and that Lee himself had said there might be a need to "readjust the content and direction of how we work." The official added that changes had already been announced in the economic policy line within the Cabinet, and described the personnel move as an effort to "find more vitality and build momentum" from those changes. The remarks were widely read as a signal that the administration intends to make significant changes to its economic policies, as Lee's approval rating has been falling.

Asked about the timeline for naming a successor, the official said the administration plans to move quickly on follow-up appointments "so that state affairs are not disrupted, given that this reshuffle itself is a measure to invigorate and accelerate the second phase of the economic policy line." The official added that the chief of staff and each senior secretary are carrying out their respective roles, and predicted that work would continue without gaps until a new appointment is made.


sunpine@heraldcorp.com
sang@heraldcorp.com