Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Moon's protocol secretary resigns over drunk driving
By Yi Whan-woo
Kim Jong-cheon
By Yi Whan-woo
President Moon Jae-in accepted an offer of resignation by his top protocol secretary who was caught driving drunk, Cheong Wa Dae said, Friday.
“President Moon accepted an offer of resignation by his protocol secretary Kim Jong-cheon after Kim was caught for driving under the influence (DUI) around 1 a.m. in front of a community center near Cheong Wa Dae,” the presidential office's vice spokeswoman Ko Min-jeong said in a written brief, adding he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1 percent, which was high enough to lose his license.
Kim Jong-cheon was a couple of kilometers away from where he had drinks when he was caught. He was allegedly on the way to meet someone who was paid to drive him home.
“He reported to Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok right after the situation and tendered his resignation, before voluntarily asking for internal investigation by the presidential house,” the spokeswoman said.
This raises concerns over lax discipline among presidential officers and calls into question Moon's code of ethics ahead of the third year of his five-year presidency.
The President has been calling for high moral standards, after winning the May 2017 snap election prompted by the impeachment of Park Geun-hye over a nation-rocking corruption scandal.
The incident comes after an officer of the Presidential Security Service was apprehended for beating up a man at a pub on Nov. 10.
It also comes after the President called for punishment of those who are caught drunk driving, during a meeting with his senior secretaries last month.
The meeting was convened after a soldier in his 20s was killed by a drunken driver in Busan.
Cheong Wa Dae sources said Kim Jong-cheong's DUI will put further burden on Moon on his state affairs. Kim was supposed to handle protocol-related issues if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits Seoul as he promised.
“This was probably why the President immediately accepted Kim Jong-cheong's resignation to show he will not overlook any lax discipline among his officers,” a source said. “Still, this DUI case is likely to affect Moon's job negatively.”