Presidential office accepts Kim Nam-kook’s resignation immediately

Dec 05, 2025, 09:34 am

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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a senior secretaries’ meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on December 4. / Yonhap News

Digital Communications Secretary Kim Nam-kook resigned on December 4 over a text-message controversy involving personnel recommendations, but the presidential office is working to prevent the political fallout from widening.

At the center of the dispute is a message exchange between Kim and Moon Jin-seok, senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, in which First Personal Secretary Kim Hyun-ji — a frequent target of the opposition — appeared as the figure mentioned in a personnel request. The fact that the text referred to the chairmanship of a private association also raised concerns that the presidential office was involved in appointments beyond its purview.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung pushed back strongly during a briefing, saying, in response to a question about whether the office recommended candidates for a private industry association, “That is not true, so I will not answer. There was no intervention.”

When asked again whether aides other than the senior personnel secretary receive such requests, Kang said, “To my knowledge, that does not happen. The First Personal Secretary is not a position related to personnel matters.”

Kang added, “He (Kim) received a stern warning yesterday. Kim submitted his resignation out of concern that the controversy was becoming a burden on state affairs, and his resignation was accepted immediately.”

There was no direct instruction from President Lee Jae-myung regarding the matter, but Kang noted that Kim submitted his resignation in the morning and that the presidential office “immediately expressed its intent to accept it,” offering an indirect signal of the president’s stance.

With the controversy involving Kim Nam-kook and Moon Jin-seok widening, the opposition People Power Party is expected to intensify its offensive.

On December 2, Moon had sent a text message to Kim during a plenary session asking him to recommend a fellow alumnus for the chairmanship of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Cameras captured the exchange, including Kim’s reply promising to “recommend to Brother Hoon-sik and Sister Hyun-ji.”

During last month’s parliamentary audit, the opposition had already demanded that Kim Hyun-ji testify, arguing that she wields outsized influence over personnel and key operations in the presidential office — coining slogans like “Precious Hyun-ji” and “Everything goes through Hyun-ji.” The incident rekindled those claims.

At a leadership meeting on December 4, PPP floor leader Song Eon-seok mocked the administration, saying, “The once-quiet ‘Precious Hyun-ji’ has made a grand return to the public stage.”

#Kim Nam-kook resignation #Kim Hyun-ji #Presidential office response