Lee Seog-yeon, chairman of the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion, announced that he would resign on the 9th after about one year in office, saying he was effectively dismissed following President Lee Jae Myung’s decision. Lee said the government’s ideas and philosophy on national cohesion differed significantly from his own. He had supported Lee Jae Myung in the presidential election and was appointed in September last year after the current government’s inauguration, despite his conservative background and previous service as Minister of Government Legislation under the Lee Myung-bak administration. Since taking office, he repeatedly criticized the government and ruling party’s prosecution and judicial reforms. He recently urged President Lee to become a president for all and leave the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee said Cheong Wa Dae conveyed on September 2 that there would be no extension of his term. Cheong Wa Dae, however, maintains that the chairman’s term is one year rather than two, rejecting the characterization as a dismissal. Lee’s departure follows broader criticism of the administration’s policy consistency, cabinet reshuffle, judicial appointments, prosecution powers, indictment dismissal controversy and declining public trust. He has also called constitutional revision an important potential legacy for the administration, while saying the question of presidential re-election must first be clarified.