Presidential Speculation

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President Park Geun-hye has not made any official response since her senior secretary for civil affairs and the justice minister expressed their willingness to resign, prompting speculation. Here’s more.

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It has been four days since Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong and senior secretary for civil affairs Choi Jae-kyung submitted their letters of resignation. But President Park has yet to show her response. Earlier, the presidential office said that the two decided to step down due to their moral obligations regarding the results of the probe into the presidential corruption scandal. Sources say that on Thursday the presidential office convened a meeting of senior secretaries and told the president that the two key figures must not resign simultaneously. Many of the officials attending the meeting reportedly said that above all, the resignation letter of the senior secretary for civil affairs must be dismissed, because the president needs to overcome the impeachment crisis. However, so far the president has neither accepted nor dismissed his letter of resignation, prompting various speculations. Some say that both officials are no longer able to perform their duties. Meanwhile, others say that the president is postponing the dismissal of the chief secretary's resignation to increase pressure on Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam. But as Kim has refused to step down, the president will likely dismiss both resignation letters soon.