SEOUL– The National Intelligence Service on Thursday rejected rumors about a possible internal rift surrounding the resignation of a deputy agency director, saying he quit due to health and other personal reasons.
The resignation of Jo Sang-jun, a deputy NIS director for planning and coordination, had sparked rampant speculation as to why he quit only a few months after assuming the job and just a day before he was due to attend a parliamentary audit of his agency.
Jo, known as a confidant of President Yoon Suk-yeol, tendered his resignation on Tuesday and Yoon accepted it the same day, and the fact that Jo reported first to the presidential office and not to NIS Director Kim Kyou-hyun, led to reports that Jo had clashed with Kim over personnel issues.
“Regarding the resignation of Former Deputy Director Jo Sang-jun, rumors reported by some media outlets on internal conflicts related to personnel affairs are completely groundless,” the state spy agency said in a press release.
The agency also said Cho resigned for personal reasons, including health.
A former senior prosecutor, Jo is known as one of Yoon’s close aides, along with Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon. He was appointed to the NIS post in June.
Yoon only cited “personal” reasons when asked about Jo’s resignation.
“But because it’s an important position, he said it wouldn’t be right to keep a heavy workload, so I accepted his resignation offer,” he told reporters Thursday. “If it was something public, we would tell those who are curious, but it’s personal.”
Yoon added that he plans to appoint a replacement soon.
Source: Yonhap News Agency