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Influence-peddling scandal erupts at presidential office

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Influence-peddling scandal erupts at presidential office

A controversy over influence-peddling allegations erupted at the presidential office after Moon Jin-seog, deputy chief floor leader for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was caught on camera asking presidential digital communications secretary Kim Nam-kuk to recommend an acquaintance for a senior post at a private industry association.

Kim submitted his resignation on Thursday. The presidential office confirmed through a press notice at 3:10 p.m. that the resignation had been accepted.

The incident came to light on Tuesday, when media cameras captured Moon sending a Telegram message during a National Assembly plenary session, asking Kim to recommend their university alumnus for the presidency of the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA). Moon and Kim are both alumni of Chung-Ang University.

In the message, Moon wrote: “He’s Hong Seong-beom — you know him too. He’s one of our Chung-Ang University alumni. He served as spokesperson when the president (Lee Jae Myung) ran for (Gyeonggi) governor and has experience as a department head at the KAMA, so he’s qualified. If I make the recommendation, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik will oppose it, so you try recommending him instead.”

According to camera footage, Kim replied: “I’ll recommend him to Hoon-sik hyeong and Hyun-ji nuna.”

The “hyeong” and “nuna” referenced are understood to be presidential chief of staff Kang and Kim Hyun-ji, first chief of administrative staff at the presidential office. In Korean, “hyeong” and “nuna” are kinship terms meaning “older brother” and “older sister” that can also be used affectionately with friends.

On Wednesday, before Kim’s resignation, the presidential office announced it had issued a stern warning to an internal staffer for “inappropriately conveying inaccurate information,” a statement interpreted as referring to Kim.

The ruling DPK leadership acknowledged the situation was “highly inappropriate.” DPK leader Kim Byung-kee reportedly phoned Moon to deliver a strong warning, and senior party officials criticized Moon’s behavior as “deeply improper.”

However, the party’s chief spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said in a radio interview Thursday that the case did not appear to rise to the level of a criminal matter or warrant an internal ethics investigation.

“This is a moral and political issue, not a matter for a criminal-focused ethics inquiry,” Park said.

Opposition parties, including the People Power Party (PPP) and the Reform Party, seized on the case to criticize the presidential personnel system. PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog argued the incident shows that senior presidential aides wield excessive behind-the-scenes influence.

“It reveals that high-ranking presidential officials and ruling DPK insiders are meddling even in the appointment of private sector association heads. Allowing Kim Hyun-ji to control positions outside the government is a blatant case of private lobbying and abuse of authority — a matter warranting an independent counsel and criminal investigation,” Song said Thursday.

PPP spokesperson Choi Eun-seok said that the episode exposed “evidence that Kim Hyun-ji has been acting as the ultimate power broker, bypassing formal channels.”

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok argued that the presidential personnel system appears to be failing and renewed his call for appointing a special inspector for the presidential office.

“Neither the Moon administration nor the Yoon administration appointed a special inspector, and both suffered personnel failures as a result.”

He questioned the DPK’s argument that the exchange was merely a benign recommendation rather than a lobbying attempt, saying, “A legitimate recommendation focuses on a candidate’s capabilities. But the messages between Moon and Kim emphasize school ties and campaign affiliations. This looks more like helping one’s own circle than identifying talent for the nation.”

The presidential office, while acknowledging that the former digital communications secretary voluntarily tendered his resignation so as not to burden the Lee administration, firmly denied that Kim Hyun-ji had any involvement in personnel matters concerning the heads of private-sector industry associations.

“He conveyed inaccurate information in an inappropriate manner. That matter has nothing to do with the presidential office’s personnel authority. My understanding is that Kim Nam-kuk offered his resignation because he had made an incorrect statement in his response, and he was concerned it might place a burden on state affairs,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during a briefing Thursday afternoon.

Responding to a question about why the office shifted its stance from issuing a warning on the previous day to accepting the resignation, Kang reiterated, “Yesterday, we announced that a stern warning had been issued, and he received a strong reprimand regarding that matter. It is my understanding that former secretary Kim’s resignation was accepted on the grounds that his actions could have imposed an undue burden on state affairs.”

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