It is interpreted that he is a replacement who holds Kim accountable for his leadership as there have been constant noise from inside the NIS. President Yoon is said to have made a decision on personnel appointments after long consideration.

According to the presidential office, President Yoon accepted the resignations of Kim, Kwon Chun-taek, and Kim Soo-yeon, and appointed Hong Jang-won, a former British construction minister, and Hwang Won-jin, a former North Korean intelligence director, as the new second deputy director.

Hong, the new first deputy director, will act as the acting director for the time being. The presidential office said, "During the regime change period, Kim tried to re-establish the NIS's status as the nation's top security intelligence agency and establish a cooperative system with the intelligence agencies of allies."

The presidential office also said that the new first and second vice-chancellors are the best experts with extensive knowledge on overseas and North Korean intelligence. Hong was a graduate of the Korea Military Academy and worked at the spy agency when he was an officer.

An official from the presidential office said, "As Director Kim served a short term of a year and a half, the replacement did not happen suddenly," adding, "He has contributed greatly, and personnel appointments are not determined by one or two factors."

The NIS said, "It is not something to tell you about personnel in government offices." The appointment is seen as a replacement as an extension of the ongoing personnel controversy within the National Intelligence Service.

Earlier in October last year, Cho Sang-joon, head of the Planning and Coordination Office, called the "Second-in-command" of the National Intelligence Service, abruptly resigned, raising the first opinion that it might be a personnel conflict issue.

In June this year, President Yoon reversed the appointment of top-level NIS officials, which had already been sanctioned. It was the first time in the NIS' history that the president reversed the appointment of a top-level NIS official who had already been sanctioned.

In particular, as the background was found to be the transfer of personnel by certain executives, Kim's theory of responsibility also grew. Some raised rumors of Kim's replacement, but he remained in office as President Yoon was reappointed. At the time, a key official in the presidential office said, "The organization will gradually stabilize."

Since then, rumors of Kim's replacement have risen again, with claims that personnel shakeups continue and confusion within the organization remains. In response, the presidential office took a cautious position and drew a line.

However, in the end, Director Kim, who suffered a setback in his leadership due to personnel issues, recently offered to resign, and President Yoon is said to have repaired it.

Another presidential office official said, "I know the president has been agonizing for a long time," adding, "I made the decision after finding out the truth about a series of events."

In the end, the personnel appointment is pointed out as the cause of Kim's leadership problems, which have emerged due to personnel issues, and at the same time, it is interpreted that it is meaningful to organize the future of Kim and Kwon, who have been rumored to be in conflict, at once.

President Yoon has yet to nominate a successor to the NIS. The presidential office has reportedly been preparing for the scandal by searching for a successor for a month.

Kim Yong-hyun, presidential security minister, and Chun Young-woo, chairman of the Korean Peninsula Future Forum, are known as candidates, but they appear to have been excluded in consideration of the understanding of the NIS' internal organization.

An official from the ruling camp said, "I understand that we are proceeding with the process of appointing successors, focusing on those who have internal experience, are well-versed in the organization, and have control over the organization." Meanwhile, there was a response from both inside and outside the NIS that the personnel appointment was an "ununderstandable personnel appointment." [스포츠토토](https://www.totositesafe.com/)

An intelligence source said, "Both the first and second vice chiefs specialize in North Korean intelligence and are not familiar with anti-aircraft investigations and domestic intelligence, but I don't know what the personnel appointments were based on." "There are many political affairs such as the work of the Grand National Party, but it is questionable whether the NIS will be able to perform properly in the future as people who have accumulated expertise are appointed."