South Korea presidential chief of staff resigns amid slide in support for Lee

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.

Lee said later on Monday that he had not decided whether to accept Kang’s resignation.

Kang offered to resign in order to take “overall responsibility” as the president’s top aide after Lee acknowledged at a press conference last week that public concern over his administration reflected his own shortcomings, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a presidential official.

The resignation follows criticism over recent government appointments, including the withdrawal of the nominations of former gender equality and family minister nominee Yong Hye-in and former justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won.

Lee’s approval rating rose 1 percentage point to 34.8% in a survey released on Monday by pollster Realmeter, marking its first increase in 10 weeks.