Prime Minister's Office Director Removed from Duties After Identifying as "Civilian" at Han Donghun's Press Conference

Question Asked With "Prime Minister + Key Executives Room" Displayed on Mobile

Han Donghun Criticizes, "Is the Prime Minister's Office Monitoring Opposition Lawmakers?"

Prime Minister's Office Removes Staffer From Duties After Stern Warning<

The Office for Government Policy Coordination has removed an affiliated director from their duties after the director identified themselves as an "ordinary citizen" when asked about their status during a press conference held by independent Assemblyman Han Donghoon.

On September 14, the Office announced that the employee had been relieved of their existing work effective immediately. This action was taken as an additional measure following a prior stern warning.

Yonhap News Agency

The controversy arose during Assemblyman Han's press conference at the National Assembly on September 10. At the time, Director A, a member of the Office, displayed a Telegram chat room titled "Prime Minister + Key Executives Room" on their mobile phone and asked questions regarding Prime Minister Han Ducksoo to Assemblyman Han.

When Assemblyman Han asked about the questioner's identity, Director A replied that they were an "ordinary citizen." Subsequently, it became known that Director A was affiliated with the Office, which intensified the controversy.

Assemblyman Han criticized the Office, questioning whether it was monitoring opposition lawmakers' activities. Prime Minister Han later apologized to both Assemblyman Han and the public regarding the matter during an interpellation session at the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Han stated again during the session in response to a related inquiry from Jeong Sung-guk, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, "I have apologized for the inappropriate aspects, and measures are being taken to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the future. We will address both the procedures and the content as necessary."

The Office is currently reviewing the circumstances of the incident in addition to the employee's removal from their duties.

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