SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignation of the head of the intelligence agency and his two deputies on Sunday (Nov 26), his office said.
Yoon’s office did not specify any reasons for the resignations. But local media have reported there were troubles during previous personnel reshuffles at the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Kim Kyou-hyun, a veteran diplomat with expertise in US and North Korea affairs, had overseen the NIS since Yoon took office in May 2022.
Yoon appointed two senior NIS officials to take over the deputy positions immediately, his office said. He has yet to nominate the next director, subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing.
“Director Kim worked to reestablish the status of the NIS as the nation’s top security intelligence agency during a government change, and build a collaboration system with intelligence agencies of friendly countries,” Yoon’s office said in a statement.
The string of resignations appear to be connected to personnel management issues that have been swirling at the spy agency since June this year, according to local media reports.
The changes come as North Korea is accelerating the development of its weapons programmes and earlier this week successfully placed its first military satellite into orbit.