President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Hwang Sang-moo, senior presidential secretary for civil and social agenda, who came under fire for making intimidating remarks to reporters.
Hwang has been under fire after he made remarks in jest about how journalists could face retribution for running anti-government stories while recalling the 1988 stabbing of a journalist by soldiers of the military intelligence command.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignation offer of Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil and Social Agenda Hwang Sang-moo,” the presidential office said in a notice to the press, without elaborating.
Hwang’s resignation came amid growing worries over how his issues could negatively affect next month’s general elections, especially the swing voters in the wider Seoul metropolitan region that the party has been wooing so hard.
Ruling People Power Party chief Han Dong-hoon had suggested Sunday the senior secretary step down voluntarily. The suggestion came three
days after Hwang made the intimidating remarks and a day after he apologized for them, saying he would be more careful about his actions and words as a public official.
The presidential office appeared to dismiss Han’s call Monday, saying it has “never used coercion or pressure against members of the press” and denying a newspaper report that ran the same day that Hwang was likely to resign voluntarily.
But pressure on the secretary continued to build not only from the opposition party but also from within the ruling bloc, as many voiced concern about how an open clash between the party and the government could hurt voter sentiment.
The rift was underscored by differences over the handling of a separate controversy over the appointment of Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup, who is under investigation in connection with the death of a Marine last year.
Hwang, a former news anchor for public broadcaster KBS, was appointed to the senior secretary post in December.
Source: Yonhap News Agency