During the very first one hour while the South Korean islet, Yeonpyeong, was under North Korean artillery shelling, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young wasn’t responding promptly to the situation and it earned the ire of the Presidential Office, leading to his removal from his job, a local daily said Saturday.
Kim suddenly resigned from his job Thursday night. JoongAng Ilbo said that it virtually was a “sacking” by the President Lee Myung-bak.
Kim’s “removal” was decided around 6 p.m. Thursday. “Normally, in this case, the announcement of the change would be made the next day. But the chief presidential secretary Lim Tae-hee made the announcement of Kim’s removal only two hours later, at 8 p.m.,” the report said.
“While reviewing the military’s initial response, the Cheong Wa Dae determined that Kim’s response was almost ‘absurdly inadequate,’” the report said, citing an unnamed senior Cheong Wa Dae official.
While Yeonpyeong was under attack, Kim stayed at the National Assembly to attend a hearing. He continued to stay there even after he was briefed about the attack. By the time Kim left the National Assembly, the South Korean military’s response to the North’s artillery shelling was already completed.
Kim also took his time after he received two phone calls from the Cheong Wa Dae, which convened an emergency meeting with President Lee Myung-bak present. Kim was late for the meeting.
But Kim’s crucial mistake was when he “put President Lee on the spot by testifying at the National Assembly that he received orders (from President Lee) to ‘contain the situation,’” making the president “very angry,” the report said.
Lee’s alleged remark, leaked to media outlets, earned a firestorm of criticism from citizens who felt that Lee’s remark was a reflection of his “soft attitude” toward the North Korean provocation.
Another newspaper, Hankyoreh, on Saturday defended Kim, saying he was just a victim of bureaucracy that tends to find a scapegoat.
Kim was replaced by Kim Kwan-jin, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.