PPP calls for full Cheong Wa Dae overhaul after chief of staff's resignation

The People Power Party on Monday criticized the resignation of presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, questioning whether the matter could be resolved by holding a single official accountable.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok wrote on Facebook that day asking whether "the people who truly should be held responsible" were not the so-called Gyeonggi Province-Seongnam line said to wield influence over Cheong Wa Dae. "Is Kim Hyun-ji more powerful than Kang Hoon-sik?" he said.

Jang called for a sweeping overhaul of both the presidential office and the cabinet. "The time when replacing the chief of staff would have been enough has long passed," he said. "The cabinet and Cheong Wa Dae must be completely overhauled."

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik held a briefing Monday afternoon, calling Kang's resignation "the natural thing to do" while stressing that "the presidential personnel affairs secretary and the civil affairs secretary, who are responsible for recommending and vetting appointments, must also be held accountable."

Jeong said the priority now was uncovering the truth behind what he described as manipulation of appointments by unofficial power brokers. "Kang's resignation must not become a card used to cover up the responsibility of the Seongnam-line shadow figures," he said.

He also renewed his call for Kim Hyun-ji, chief of the presidential secretariat's support office, to be summoned as a witness at the parliamentary audit. "Kim Hyun-ji of the Seongnam line and Director Jeong Jin-sang must appear as witnesses at the audit so that the allegations of appointment manipulation can be examined," Jeong said.

He then urged President Lee Jae Myung to reflect on the sequence of events. "Public sentiment turned sour, so they tried to shift attention with a cabinet reshuffle — that failed. Then they cut loose Policy Director Kim Yong-beom. When that was not enough, nominee Yong Hye-in and nominee Kim Seung-won withdrew, and now Chief of Staff Kang has been removed as well," Jeong said.

Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon also criticized the allegations surrounding Kim Hyun-ji and the presidential personnel line.

In a statement released Monday, Park questioned whether dismissing a single chief of staff could be called reform after "a string of appointment failures has left the presidential office's personnel system in tatters."

Park said the administration was staying silent on allegations of appointment interference surrounding the presidential personnel line and Kim Hyun-ji, whom he called a "shadow power broker." "Those who should be held responsible are hiding in the background — is the plan to end accountability by cutting loose one chief of staff?" he said.

Park asked how long President Lee would "keep shielding close aides and shadow figures through a strategy of cutting off the tail," and demanded that the president "show the public a posture of truth and accountability — not only by reshuffling the staff but by fundamentally changing the direction of state affairs."