Departing Kang Hoonsik: "499 Days of Struggle; New Cheong Wa Dae Will Come Closer to Success"

Lee Administration's First Chief of Staff Kang Hoonsik Steps Down After 449 Days
"Grateful to Those Who Supported Me; Please Continue to Trust and Support Us"

President Lee Jae-myung appointed National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwanghyun on October 14 as the successor to Chief of Staff Kang Hoonsik.

Chief of Staff Kang announced at a briefing at Chunchugwan that day, “President Lee appointed National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwanghyun as the new presidential chief of staff today, October 14.” When Kang leaves Cheong Wa Dae on October 15, his 499th day in office, Lim will take over and officially begin work.

Kang Hoonsik, the president's chief of staff, enters the press briefing room at Cheong Wa Dae on the 14th with Lim Kwanghyun, who was appointed as the new chief of staff. Yonhap News Agency

Kang reflected, “I sincerely thank everyone who supported us as a government launched without a transition committee and a Cheong Wa Dae that started without a single pen came to dream of an irreplaceable Korea.” He recalled, “For 499 days, I fought on with that same resolve with which I gave up my seat in the National Assembly because I wanted to show the people a government that would succeed.”

Kang added, “There were many shortcomings. Even so, I was sincerely grateful for every voice that supported me and every person who criticized me, from my first day as chief of staff until now.” He continued, “I will reflect on whether I was too impatient in wanting to repay that support. I will also remember for a long time the moments when I could have done better and the matters I should have examined more deeply.”

“The newly launched Cheong Wa Dae will come even closer to achieving a successful government,” he said, concluding the briefing with, “As always, I ask you to trust and support us. I am truly grateful.”

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