South Korea’s president shook up the top echelon of his nation’s spy agency on Sunday, accepting the resignations of the South Korean National Intelligence Service director and two of his top deputies — all three of whom are believed to have been fired.
The reshuffling by President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who’s pushed to beef up South Korean defenses in response to mounting nuclear provocations by North Korea, came amid reports his administration was frustrated with personnel management inside the secretive NIS.
Mr. Yoon’s office said in a statement Sunday that it had accepted the resignations of NIS chief Kim Kyou-huyn, without immediately naming a successor. Mr. Kim, formerly a deputy national security adviser, had been tapped to head the spy agency in May.
The Yonhap News Agency in Seoul reported that Sunday’s developments were part of a leadership reshuffle of the spy agency and that Mr. Yoon also approved the resignations of NIS first deputy director Kwon Chun-taek and second deputy director Kim Soo-youn.
Yonhap reported that Mr. Kwon has been replaced by former South Korean diplomat Hong Jang-won and that Mr. Kim has been replaced by Hwang Won-jin, the former head of an intelligence unit focused on North Korea within the NIS.
The directorship of NIS will remain vacated indefinitely, although Mr. Hong will lead the spy agency during a transitional period, the news agency reported, citing a statement from the South Korean president’s office.
The Korea Times reported that the development effectively amounted to the “sacking” of the top three officials within NIS in the wake of a controversy over personnel affairs.
The details of the alleged controversy are not clear.
Mr. Yoon made the move upon returning home to Seoul Sunday from an overseas visit to Britain and France, both close allies of South Korea.
Yonhap noted that the position of first deputy director within the NIS is responsible for collecting intelligence from overseas and antiterrorism activities, while the second deputy director is tasked with handling North Korea-related intelligence and counterintelligence.
Officials in those positions are widely seen to work closely with U.S. officials on countering threats from North Korea. There are currently about 30,000 American military personnel stationed in South Korea.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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