SEOUL: Kim Seung-hee, the presidential secretary for protocol, has resigned following allegations that his daughter was involved in a school bullying incident. His resignation comes just as President Yoon Suk Yeol is preparing for state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the presidential office had initiated an investigation into claims that Kim's third-grade daughter had assaulted a second-grader at their elementary school in Gyeonggi Province. The resignation was submitted hours after the inquiry was announced and was promptly accepted, as per presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.
"As a parent, I feel a deep sense of responsibility. I won't be any burden to government administration," Kim was cited as saying by Lee.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Kim Young-ho of the main opposition Democratic Party had stated during a parliamentary audit that the young victim of the alleged bullying had suffered injuries that required nine weeks for recovery. Rep. Kim also noted that Kim Seung-hee's wife changed her KakaoTalk profile photo to an image of her husband with the president on July 19, the same day their daughter was suspended for the bullying allegations—an action he described as "very inappropriate."
Kim Seung-hee had been in the role of the presidential secretary for protocol since April 14.