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The Blue House announced on the 1st that Kim Yong-beom, the Chief Policy Officer, expressed his intention to resign on the 31st, and President Lee Jae-myung accepted his resignation on the 1st. Kim's resignation is primarily attributed to criticism of real estate policies and a decline in the government's approval ratings.
Chief Kim has led initiatives such as the introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have been pointed to as causes of recent stock market volatility, as well as controversial real estate policies, the development of Yongsan Park, and differentiated application of the basic deduction for comprehensive real estate tax for non-resident homeowners. The opposition has raised the issue of 'Kim Yong-beom's responsibility,' and voices within the ruling party have grown louder calling for accountability for the declining approval ratings.
The Blue House stated that it had not considered replacing Chief Kim, but as the decline in approval ratings due to policy failures continues, there is increasing opinion that a rebound would be difficult without his resignation. President Lee has recently attempted to revitalize the atmosphere by replacing Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok, but the fact that Chief Kim, who has played a key role in policy decisions, was not included in the replacement targets seems to have contributed to the circumstances leading to his resignation.