Kim Yong-beom steps down after 15 months as Cheong Wa Dae policy chief

Kim Yong-beom, who served as the first policy chief of the Lee Jae Myung administration and oversaw economic and industrial policy, stepped down Tuesday after 15 months in the role. In a farewell message to staff, Kim said he believed "there is still much to be done, but the time has come for me to step aside and let the next people carry their share."

Kim posted the message on his Facebook page Tuesday, writing that he had "completed the duties entrusted to me as the first policy chief of the Lee Jae Myung administration."

Rather than deliver a formal farewell address, he chose to share the note he had sent directly to the staff he worked alongside, using it to reflect on the past 15 months.

"I felt that the responsibilities I took on as policy chief far exceeded my own abilities," Kim wrote. "You filled that gap. You caught what I missed, looked further ahead when my thinking fell short, and threw yourselves into every crisis as if it were your own."

He said he was often asked how he managed the relentless workload under President Lee, who takes a hands-on approach to policy matters. His answer, he said, was always the same: "The policy office has the best talent in the country."

Kim also reflected on what it takes to turn policy into reality.

"I watched closely, right beside you, just how much deliberation, persuasion and compromise goes into bringing a single policy into the world," he said.

"What the policy office accomplished is what you accomplished," he added. "I am proud of what we built together."

He also expressed regret at leaving before his colleagues. "I feel sorry for adding to your burden by leaving first, but knowing you are there, I have no worries," Kim said, adding with a touch of humor: "You may well do even better without me."

He explained his decision to leave by saying he felt "the time has come for me to step aside and let the next people carry their share, even though there is still much to be done."

In closing, he wrote: "Once I am outside, I will speak often about how hard you worked and who the people were behind this administration's achievements. I will cheer on everything you go on to build, more enthusiastically than anyone."

Kim submitted his resignation Monday, and President Lee accepted it Tuesday — marking the first cabinet-level departure since the administration took office. Kim had been appointed policy chief when the Lee Jae Myung government launched in June last year, roughly 15 months ago.

During his tenure, Kim oversaw South Korea-US trade negotiations, efforts to foster the semiconductor industry and capital market policy. More recently, he helped lay the groundwork for the government's three flagship "mega projects." His tenure was not without controversy, however, as debates over real estate policy and single-stock leveraged ETFs drew scrutiny and raised questions about policy accountability.

Cheong Wa Dae has pushed back against characterizations of the change as a dismissal, with an official describing it as a personnel move aimed at reinvigorating policy implementation. The presidential office said it would move forward with filling out a second-term economic and policy lineup. Until a new policy chief is named, the chief of staff and senior secretaries will divide the responsibilities among themselves.