Posted September. 01, 2005 07:09,
Is it a dismissal or a voluntary resignation?
Attention is being paid to the background of former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Woo-siks resignation. This is because President Roh Moo-hyun reportedly hinted in a dinner meeting with ruling Uri Party members held at Cheong Wa Dae on August 30 that he dismissed the former presidential chief of staff.
According to lawmakers who attended the meeting, the president said, Given former Presidential Chief of Staff Kims life history and character, Kim might not accept the idea of a grand coalition government. This remark is inconsistent with the presidential offices earlier explanations saying that Kim voluntarily stepped down.
The presidents remark is creating a subtle atmosphere by being linked with Kims comments uttered in a press conference marking his resignation on August 19 that he had been at loggerheads with the president on two to three occasions. This is because Kims comments hint that the two have failed to reach an agreement on key issues.
In response, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Man-soo flatly spurned the rumors of dismissal, saying, The presidents remark does not mean that he dismissed Kim, but that he considered such things internally when he decided to accept Kims intention to resign.