Unfit presidential aides

Kim Seong-hoe, presidential secretary for religious and multicultural affairs, resigned Friday after creating a stir over his controversial remarks. Kim is the first presidential secretary to resign since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office May 10. It was a belated but natural move, as Kim had revealed absurd perceptions of history with remarks such as, “Half of the women in the Joseon Kingdom were sexual instruments … the objects of carnal pleasure for aristocrats.” Kim then defended his view as a “generalized theory in historical circles,” prompting rebuttals from historians.

Kim previously used the phrase “money for sex” while describing calls for Japan to pay reparations to surviving South Korean women forced into sex slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. He also called homosexuality “a form of psychosis.” The secretary for religious and multicultural affairs is a newly established post under the Senior Civil Service Secretary Office. It aims to broaden communication with religious communities and handle increasingly important multiculturalism-related issues. One cannot help but wonder who recommended a person with such a biased perception and penchant for making nasty remarks for the role of a presidential secretary.

However, Kim is not the only problematic secretary. Lee Shi-won, secretary for public office discipline, is a former prosecutor suspended for months for mishandling a case that manipulated evidence to make a Seoul City official appear to be a North Korean spy. Can a man who failed to filter out documents forged by the spy agency do disciplinary work properly?

Besides, Yun Jae-soon, secretary for general affairs, underwent internal inspections and was warned twice for sexual misconduct, including inappropriate physical contact, speech and behavior. Still, the presidential office is bent on defending him, saying these were “not formal disciplinary actions” and the “appointment mainly considered his expertise.”