Resignations of Moon and Jung Accepted

On May 27, President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignations of Moon Jung-in from the head of the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative, and of Jung Tae-in from his position as an aide with the National Economic Advisory Council. Both officials supported the Haengdam Island development in Dangjin, South Chuncheong Province.

Cheong Wa Dae expressed its regrets, saying “The presidential office feels sorry for the improper behavior of the two.”

Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, Kim Man-soo, said in a regular briefing in the afternoon, “President Roh has accepted proposals for resignation in a senior official meeting with presiding Chief of Staff Kim Woo-sik. Cheong Wa Dae will deal with the issue cool-headedly through due process without any bias or overstatement.”

Kim revealed a number of misdemeanors that were found after the result of an internal investigation, including the fact that the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative misunderstood the Haengdam Island development project as a model case of the development project of the southwestern coastal area (S Project) and that in the process, the committee depended too heavily on Kim Jae-bok, a president of the Haengdam Island Development Group. It was also revealed that the committee, an advisory committee, not an administrative agency, signed on to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and supported a development group through a document of agreed support.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com