Editorial: Kim Yong-beom’s Resignation Must Not Leave the Cabinet Looking Only to the Blue House

Kim Yong-beom’s resignation has exposed what the editorial calls an unhealthy concentration of policy power in South Korea’s Blue House.

Kim, the first policy chief appointed by President Lee Jae-myung, stepped down after serving for one year and three months. Lee accepted his resignation a day after it was submitted. His departure followed those of the deputy prime minister and finance minister and the land, infrastructure and transport minister, effectively reshaping the government’s first economic team.

The Blue House had denied reports of Kim’s replacement as recently as two days earlier, when it announced changes involving six ministries and presidential staff. But criticism over housing-tax changes described as piecemeal, along with the introduction of a single-stock leveraged exchange-traded fund blamed for market turmoil, made it increasingly difficult to keep him in the post. The editorial also points to approval ratings that had fallen to the 30% range in some surveys, their lowest level since Lee took office.

Kim had enjoyed Lee’s strong confidence and directed the design of policies involving housing, finance and the stock market. He frequently took the public lead on measures affecting multiple-home owners and nonresident single-home owners. His prominence, the editorial says, weakened the public profile of the responsible ministers and even the economic deputy prime minister, leaving officials with the impression that they had to look to the Blue House for direction.

The resignation should prompt a review of the presidential support system, the editorial argues. Advisers should coordinate ministries and oversee a broad policy framework, not move ahead of the cabinet or control the president’s access to information. It calls for Lee to move away from short-term, hands-on leadership and entrust more responsibility to ministers and advisers.

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A government cannot beat the market.