The editor-in-chief of the Hankyoreh newspaper stepped down on Monday after a senior reporter at the daily was found to have borrowed money from Kim Man-bae, a key figure in the Daejang-dong development scandal.

Ryu Yi-geun, the chief editor of the local newspaper said on Monday that he is stepping down to take responsibility for appointing an inappropriate person to an important post and failing to detect a problematic behavior in advance, thus causing irreparable damage to the company.

The resignation comes after the Hankyoreh said on its website on Friday that its senior reporter borrowed 600 million won from Kim in 2019 when Kim was a journalist of another media firm, and has repaid 200 million won so far, adding the reporter notified Kim of his intent to repay the remainder as well.

The newspaper also said it would set up a probe team to shed light on the case and take disciplinary actions against the reporter.

Hankyoreh's chief executive Kim Hyun-dae and two other executives on Monday said they will also resign over the incident.

Source: KBS World Radio