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Kim Jin-kook, the former Blue House senior presidential secretary for civil affairs (Hankyoreh archive photo)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in removed Kim Jin-kook from his position as Blue House senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, the decision coming just 12 hours after controversy erupted over Kim's son trying to leverage his father's position on job applications.

“President Moon accepted Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Jin-kook’s indication of his intent to resign,” said Park Soo-hyun, the Blue House senior presidential secretary for public communication, on Tuesday morning.

Kim indicated his intent to resign upon reporting to work that morning after news reports Sunday that his son had written on a job application to one company that his “father is the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs and will provide a lot of assistance.”

Commenting on the reasons for Kim’s removal, a senior Blue House official said, “The Blue House felt that it needed to respond immediately to the public’s sentiments.” This suggests that it moved quickly to fix the situation out of fears that anger over the job applications and attempt to leverage Kim’s influence might escalate into a controversy over unfairness.

When asked whether the Blue House had verified that Kim had not actually been involved in his son’s applications, the same official said, “Yes, that is correct.”

The Blue House said it had not yet discussed or made plans to decide who will take Kim’s place.

On Tuesday afternoon, Kim visited the Blue House’s Press Center to give a statement acknowledging his fault in the matter and affirming his intent to step down.

“I feel that the inappropriate behavior on my son’s part is entirely a matter of my own inattention,” he said.

“I thought that if I had any sense of shame at all, the right thing to do would be for me to naturally assume responsibility. That is why I am stepping down,” he continued.

On Monday, the MBC network reported that Kim’s son had submitted a job application to one consulting company on which he wrote, “My father is Kim Jin-kook, the current senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.” He also wrote that he would “talk to [his] father about realizing this company’s dreams,” the report said.

In response to the obvious irregularities with the application, Kim explained that his son had “undergone treatment for anxiety and compulsive behavior.”

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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