PPP Calls for Withdrawal of Lim Kwang-hyun Appointment, Citing 'Family Favoritism for Daejang-dong Lawyer'
The People Power Party (PPP) on Friday urged President Lee Jae-myung to withdraw the appointment of former National Tax Service chief Lim Kwang-hyun as chief secretary at the presidential office, calling it a "reward appointment" for the president's defense counsel. The PPP's core objection centers on the fact that Lim's brother-in-law, lawyer Lee Seung-yup, represented President Lee in his Daejang-dong development, election law violation, and illegal remittance-to-North Korea cases. The party claimed that the entire family of the man who defended the president now occupies key state positions.
PPP floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik noted on Facebook that spousal appointments and the advancement of high-ranking couples have been conspicuous in this administration. Citing Lim as chief secretary and his wife Lee Kyung-eun as consul general in Houston, he also pointed to the couple of Constitutional Court Justice Oh Young-jun and Chief Judge Kim Min-gi, as well as the appointment of Jang Yu-sik, a lawyer and husband of National Assembly Legislation Committee Chairwoman Seo Young-kyo, as a nonstanding commissioner of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. Jeong said the common thread among the three couples is their proximity to the dropping of charges in the president's five trials.
In a statement, PPP senior deputy floor leader Choi Soo-jin said the presidential office has degenerated into a "private employment agency" that feeds the family of the president's personal lawyer, urging the immediate withdrawal of the "shameless reward appointment." She noted that the lawyer in question had served as the key defender who blocked President Lee's various legal risks and was even considered as a Constitutional Court justice candidate.
At the party's supreme council meeting, PPP Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won claimed that the elder sister of lawyer Lee Seung-yup is none other than Lee Kyung-eun, consul general in Houston, asserting that an entire family has been appointed to key state posts. He went on to claim that "Daejang-dong lawyers" dominate the current administration's legal, investigative, and intelligence lines, citing Legislation Minister Cho Won-chul, senior presidential secretary for public discipline Lee Tae-hyung, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Chun Chi-young, justice secretary Lee Jang-hyung, Prime Minister's civil affairs chief Na Seung-chul, former Justice Minister policy aide Cho Sang-ho, and National Intelligence Service planning chief Kim Soo-yeon.
In a Facebook post, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon remarked that Chief Secretary Lim had eagerly sought to become the first National Tax Service chief under the Yoon Suk-yeol government when it launched, adding pointedly: "How does he feel about serving a Democratic administration now?"
