Kang You-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, said Lee told Kim, "You've been through a lot," and urged him to "handle matters that raise public doubts according to principle, without distinguishing between your side and my side."
Lee added that "the agency must earn public recognition for its reason for being," stressing, "You must remember that many people are watching."
Alongside Kim, appointment letters were presented to Song Doo-hwan, chairman of the Special Investigation Commission for Uncovering the Truth of the Oct. 29 Itaewon Disaster and Preventing Recurrence; Lee Hyoung-il, deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy; Kang Shin-chul, defense minister; Hong Ji-sun, minister of land, infrastructure and transport; and Lee So-young, minister of SMEs and startups. Ha Joon-kyung, head of the presidential office's policy planning office, and Lim Ki-geun, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, both of ministerial rank, also received appointment letters.