The Presidential Office said on the 23rd that Kang Sun-woo, the candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family against whom allegations of abuse of power were raised, expressed her intention to resign, stating, "We will promptly find a candidate for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family that meets the expectations of the people." Kang Yu-jeong, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, mentioned during an afternoon briefing that "Kang informed Kang Hoon, chief of staff at the Presidential Office, of her resignation around 2:30 p.m., and the chief of staff reported this to President Lee Jae-myung."
According to the Presidential Office, Kang expressed her intention to resign to Chief of Staff Kang about an hour after stating she would resign. In a statement, she said, "I know I am lacking, but I wanted to do my best. However, it seems this is as far as I can go," adding, "I will accept the harsh criticism and live with reflection." She also stated, "I am deeply sorry to the President, who believed in me and gave me this opportunity."
Thus, Kang became the fourth high-ranking public official to fall from the Lee Jae-myung administration. Previously, Oh Kwang-soo, chief of civil affairs, resigned voluntarily over issues related to the "real estate name management" problem, and the Presidential Office withdrew the nomination of Lee Jin-sook, the candidate for Minister of Education, due to plagiarism and other controversies regarding qualifications. Kang Jun-wook, the Presidential Office's senior secretary for national integration, resigned over past writings that defended the December 3 martial law and colonialism.
On the other hand, Kang maintained her position throughout the confirmation process. The Democratic Party of Korea supported her until the morning of the day she ultimately decided to resign, but as criticism grew, along with calls for her resignation from women's groups, she gave up her position. It is said that the exposure of budget abuse by Jeong Yeong-ae, a former Minister of Gender Equality and Family and recognized as a pioneer in women's studies, significantly influenced this process. There are allegations that Kang instructed the Minister on regional grievances, and when her requests were not accepted, she retaliated by cutting the department's budget.
With Kang, who was regarded as a close aide to the President, falling from grace, there are critiques of the verification system of appointments at the Presidential Office. It has been stated that the inadequate verification and moral laxity at the Presidential Office exacerbated the situation. Since President Lee carried out the appointment on the 23rd of last month, several allegations of "abuse of power" have been raised, but the Presidential Office requested the National Assembly to resend the report on the confirmation process without any "special changes."
Kang Yu-jeong responded by saying, "We are conducting the personnel verification process carefully and rigorously," but also noted that "we must strive to find candidates and individuals that meet the people's expectations through more diverse methods, and there are areas we need to think about and scrutinize further." She continued, "We will enhance the promptness and rigor of the personnel verification process to approach matters more cautiously in line with public opinion."