The presidential office confirmed on Tuesday that the chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-beom, has stepped down from his post, with President Lee Jae-myung accepting the resignation. According to the spokesperson, Kim submitted his resignation on Monday, and it was formally accepted by the president early Tuesday.

This development comes amid growing market concerns that single-stock leveraged ETFs have intensified stock market volatility in recent weeks. In this context, Kim has faced a criminal complaint alleging abuse of authority in connection with pushing forward the introduction of these financial products.

Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city councilor from the People Power Party, stated on August 3 that he had filed a complaint against Kim through the national petition platform with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The complaint accuses Kim of three charges: abuse of authority obstructing another person's exercise of rights, coercion, and obstructing business through the use of force.

Lee further elaborated: "Despite the Financial Services Commission recognizing the high risks involved, Kim Yong-beom still forcibly ordered the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs. This constitutes abuse of authority that impedes the financial authorities from exercising their powers, which falls under the charge of abusing authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. If external pressure was applied to force the launch, it also constitutes the crimes of coercion and obstructing business through force."

According to Lee's account, Kim questioned during a media interview in January: "If the Nasdaq market can offer such products, why isn't it allowed in Korea?" He subsequently directed financial regulators to study the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs. Lee stated that shortly after that interview, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Lee Bok-hyeon, publicly announced plans to approve the launch of 2x single-stock leveraged ETFs.

Lee pointed out: "Industry practitioners, experts, and even the FSC internally had all warned at the time that these products would have a severe negative impact. However, after Kim issued his directive, the products were hastily introduced right before the general election. Kim's abuse of authority to interfere with regulatory duties and his external pressure to force the product launch have already constituted the relevant criminal charges."