Lee Byungtae Resigns Over "5·18 Sanctuary" Controversy... Steps Down After 126 Days in Office

Blue House Recommends and Accepts Resignation

Blue House: "Will Continue to Broaden Political Inclusivity"

Hong Ikpyo: "Freedom of Expression Differs for Senior Public Officials"

Lee Byungtae: "Decided Not to Burden the Appointing Authority"

Lee Byungtae, Vice Chair of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, who sparked controversy with his remarks about the "5·18 Sanctuary," voluntarily resigned on July 6. This comes 126 days after his appointment on March 2.

A Blue House official announced to the press that day, stating, "Vice Chair Lee has expressed his intention to resign," and added, "The Blue House has decided to accept his resignation." The decision follows the Blue House's warning to Lee and its recommendation that he step down. Lee, known for his conservative stance as a business administration professor, was responsible for economic policy in Hong Joonpyo's campaign during last year's People Power Party presidential primary, and his appointment was previously evaluated as a bold "integrative personnel selection."

Previously, Vice Chair Lee caused controversy by commenting on the Baegae High School baseball team's "Starbucks cheer slogan" issue, stating, "The 5·18 has become a sanctuary in this country," and "Seeing newspapers in North Korea getting soaked in the rain and people wailing at the sight of Kim Il-sung's photograph, rather than for South Korea," which ignited public debate.

Regarding this matter, Hong Ikpyo, Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, said in a joint interview with the Blue House New Media Press Corps, "Considering that the vice chair of a presidential advisory body is a senior official at the prime minister level, the freedom of expression for public officials may differ from that of private individuals."

He added, "Given the recent controversies in politics and broader society, the Blue House believed it would be best for him to voluntarily resolve his position." Hong further explained that, even after the Blue House delivered a "stern warning" to Lee on July 4 and urged him not to escalate the controversy, he continued to engage with the media, further fueling the issue.

Meanwhile, immediately after expressing his intention to resign, Lee posted on his Facebook page, "After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as vice chair, following recommendations that I should not burden the appointing authority and the government."

However, Lee stated, "The reason I hesitated to accept the recommendation to resign is that this resignation does not constitute a clear cause for dismissal, raising concerns that it does not align with the principles of the rule of law." He added, "I was worried that resigning under unfair political pressure would set a precedent for tolerating future abuses of political power."

He continued, "I still believe our society must move toward one where people can freely express their thoughts, and I remain proud of having raised an important issue." He maintained his previous stance, "A society where certain groups or individuals impose their sanctuaries on others should not be tolerated."

He further argued, "If power and groups begin to arbitrarily define even the boundary between freedom and permissiveness, that marks the beginning of totalitarianism."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.