Lee appoints tax agency head as new chief of staff

President Lee Jae Myung appointed National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun as his new chief of staff, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday.

This is the first change in the post since Lee was inaugurated in June 2025.

Lim, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, replaces Kang Hoon-sik, who offered his resignation last month amid mounting criticism over the administration’s handling of Cabinet appointments.

Announcing the appointment, Kang described Lim as “a former economic bureaucrat turned politician with extensive administrative experience and political acumen.”

Kang credited Lim with advancing tax fairness as the Lee administration’s first National Tax Service chief and translating Lee’s policy priorities into practice.

Kang further cited Lim’s experience in both the National Assembly and government as an asset in strengthening coordination among the ruling party, government and presidential office.

Lim’s appointment marks an unusual career trajectory, taking him from a career tax official to a lawmaker, then head of the country’s tax agency and now presidential chief of staff.

Lim, who entered public service in 1995, acknowledged feeling “the weight of responsibility more heavily than ever” as he took on the role of chief of staff.

“My mission is to build on the Lee administration’s achievements and bring about changes that people can actually feel in their daily lives,” Lim said in a press briefing. “Every day at Cheong Wa Dae should carry the same sense of urgency as the daily struggles of the people. I will devote all my efforts to making their difficult days better.”

Lim previously served as deputy commissioner of the National Tax Service and as an administrative officer in the presidential office’s economic policy division under the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

Lim also served as a standing vice chair of the Democratic Party’s policy committee after entering the 22nd National Assembly as a proportional-representation lawmaker.

The appointment follows Kang’s resignation on Sept. 21 amid growing scrutiny of the presidential office’s personnel vetting process.

His departure came after two Cabinet nominees withdrew from consideration in quick succession. Rep. Yong Hye-in, nominated as gender equality and family minister, withdrew on Sept. 13, followed by Rep. Kim Seung-won, nominated as justice minister, on Sept. 19.

The back-to-back withdrawals intensified criticism of the administration’s vetting process and placed Kang, who chaired the presidential personnel committee, under pressure to take responsibility. The personnel controversies coincided with a prolonged decline in Lee’s approval ratings.