Kang Hoon-sik, former chief of staff to the president, said on the 15th, after his resignation was accepted, that he was entirely at fault for bringing about a situation in which the president had to apologize.
In a post on Facebook, Kang looked back on his 499 days assisting President Lee Jae-myung. "It has been quite a while since I began weighing my position," he wrote. "There were many painful nights because it seemed there was nothing that was not my fault. That is probably true for the most part."
He said the hardest day was Sept. 18, when the president held a news conference. "Every time the words 'I fell short' and 'I am sorry' came from the person I served, I felt as though a dagger were flying at me," Kang said. "After a weekend without sleep, I had no choice but to tell the president I wished to resign."
"I listened to and read all of the public response that followed," he added. "There will be a chance to explain the parts that differ from the facts, and I could accept most of the criticism." Still, he said, "the comments asking why I was leaving at a time when I should be guarding the president more firmly hurt a great deal. I am sorry. Even so, my view that taking responsibility is the right thing to do has not changed."
"The president accepted my resignation today," Kang wrote. "I had assumed everything would flash before my eyes, but all that keeps coming to mind is that I was simply fortunate."
He went on to thank those who had supported him. "There were the residents of Asan in South Chungcheong Province who raised an unknown Kang Hoon-sik, and there was the candidate at the time, Lee Jae-myung, who trusted a lawmaker standing one step removed and entrusted him with the job," he wrote. "After I entered the presidential office, there were countless staff members who believed what a young chief of staff said and ran alongside him."
Of President Lee, he said: "He is an outstanding administrator and a politician who never forgets that he is an agent of the people, but above all he is a good person." Kang said, "There were many moments of admiration throughout the time I served him," adding that "the wish to keep in step with him and do well was the greatest force that moved me over those 499 days." He also wrote: "The world he let me learn about by watching over his shoulder was boundless. I am grateful."
Kang said the presidential office "will always maintain unbroken ranks, regardless of my personal position." He added: "The new chief of staff and the most capable aides I have ever met will hold the line firmly, so there is no need for concern." He closed the post by writing, "I will offer my greetings again someday."