Kim Yong-beom abruptly resigns as presidential policy chief... Lee reshuffles the economic team after cabinet changes

[Financial News] Kim Yong-beom, who had overseen the Lee Jae Myung administration's economic policy, stepped down on the 1st. Following a recent mid-scale cabinet reshuffle that replaced the deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, the resignation of the policy control tower has widened the scope of changes in the economic team. With some polls showing the president's approval rating falling into the 30% range, attention is turning to whether further changes to the economic lineup will follow.
Kang Yoo-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, held a briefing at the Chunchugwan Press Center at the Blue House on the day and said, "Kim Yong-beom, the Cheong Wa Dae policy chief, expressed his intention to resign yesterday, on the 31st," adding, "Accordingly, President Lee Jae Myung accepted his resignation today."
This is the first replacement at the chief level since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office, and Kim is leaving about 15 months after being appointed as the first policy chief.
Kim had served as the control tower coordinating the government's overall economic policy. He was also involved in designing and promoting major policies, including the 'three major mega projects,' as well as initiatives to foster advanced industries such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, along with real estate and tax policies. He also led major economic issues, including the South Korea–United States Tariff Negotiations.
In recent weeks, however, criticism over Kim's responsibility has intensified. As instability in the Seoul and Seoul metropolitan area housing markets continued, controversy erupted over the introduction of single-stock leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), prompting opposition parties to call for his resignation. It is also reported that some within the ruling camp said policy changes were needed as the approval ratings of both the president and the party fell together.
President Lee carried out a mid-scale cabinet reshuffle on the 30th of last month, replacing six ministers and reorganizing the presidential AI advisory team, but Kim was retained at the time. However, as debate over his future continued even after the reshuffle, Kim is said to have personally offered his resignation.
Attention is now focused on whether Kim's resignation will lead to additional personnel changes, including in the economic team. With the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, and now the policy chief all being replaced, much of the leadership that had driven key economic and real estate policies has been reshaped. As the recent downtrend in approval ratings continues, some say the scope of reform could expand beyond the policy team to the broader Cheong Wa Dae staff.
Earlier, Realmeter, commissioned by the Energy Economy Newspaper, surveyed 2,509 voters aged 18 and older nationwide from the 24th to the 28th of last month. The poll found that President Lee's positive rating for state affairs stood at 38.9%, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous week. Negative ratings rose 1.8 points over the same period to 58.7%.
Realmeter said the decline in approval ratings has continued as public sentiment worsened over housing prices and rent, constitutional concerns emerged over the refusal to appoint a Supreme Court justice nominee, distrust in the police grew after a missing-person case in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and internal friction within the ruling camp surfaced over remarks by writer Rhyu Si-min. The survey was conducted through an automated response system using wireless random digit dialing. The response rate for the presidential approval survey was 3.9%, and the margin of error was plus or minus 2.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. More details are available on the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter