{
  "id": 8902809,
  "title": "South Korea presidential chief of staff resigns amid slide in support for Lee",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/south-korea-presidential-chief-of-staff-resigns-amid-slide-in-support-8902809",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T10:56:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-21-south-korea-presidential-chief-of-staff-resigns-amid-slide-in-support-for-lee/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, tendered his resignation on Monday, the presidential office announced, amid a recent decline in the president's approval ratings. The drop in support for Lee has been partly attributed to failed ministerial nominations, according to Yonhap News Agency, which cited a presidential official.\n\nKang's decision to resign came as he sought to assume overall responsibility as the president's top aide following Lee's acknowledgment of public concerns over his administration. These concerns were said to reflect Lee's own shortcomings, as reported by the presidential official.\n\nThe resignation of Kang follows criticism over recent government appointments, which included the withdrawal of nominations for former gender equality and family minister Yong Hye-in and former justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won. Lee's approval rating recently showed a slight increase, rising by 1 percentage point to 34.8% in a survey conducted by pollster Realmeter. This marked the first increase in Lee's approval rating in the past 10 weeks.",
  "summary": "South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, offered to resign on Monday, the presidential office said, following weeks of declines in Lee's approval ratings that have been partly blamed on failed ministerial nominations.",
  "key_points": [
    "Kang Hoon-sik resigns as South Korea's presidential chief of staff",
    "President Lee Jae Myung's approval ratings declining",
    "Criticism over failed ministerial nominations cited"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "South Korea presidential chief of staff resigns amid slide in support for Lee",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/south-korea-presidential-chief-of-staff-resigns-amid-slide-in-support",
        "published": "2026-09-21T08:09:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}