Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday it has launched an immediate fact-finding probe and inspection into Kim Seung-ryong, commissioner of the National Fire Agency. Kang Yu-jung, senior spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae, said in a notice to the media that President Lee Jae-myung issued the order.
A Cheong Wa Dae official described the matter as "related to personal misconduct" but did not disclose specifics. Attention is focused on the sudden background of the inspection, given that it comes just two days after Kim received high marks for wildfire prevention performance at a Cabinet meeting on the 20th. Some observers suggest that the inspection into a serious matter began following an internal tip-off from within the Fire Agency, and that the Office for Government Policy Coordination is leading the investigation along with consideration of removing him from duty.
Another government official said, "It is a case similar to the recent standby order issued to the chief of Seoul's Seongdong Police Station, who used an emergency-response government-issued electric vehicle for commuting to circumvent the public-sector vehicle alternate-day driving system."
Kim served as acting fire agency commissioner for about six months starting last September, after former commissioner Heo Seok-gon was suspended over allegations of involvement in the December 3 emergency martial law incident. Kim was appointed as the new fire agency commissioner in March this year.
