TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Secretary-General of the Judicial Yuan Wu San-long (吳三龍) submitted a letter of resignation to President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Friday (Sept. 13). 

The Presidential Office said Wu’s resignation was approved and he will leave office on Oct. 1, reported CNA. Wu was appointed as secretary-general, effectively the third highest position in the Judicial Yuan, in June 2023 under the Tsai administration.

After Wu steps down, Deputy Secretary-General Huang Lin-lun (黃麟倫) will serve as acting secretary-general until a new one is formally appointed. Huang has served in the role of deputy secretary-general since August 2022.

According to a UDN report, Wu was absent from an annual retreat for top officials of the Judicial Yuan this week, which was led by Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力). The report also suggested that many were dissatisfied with Wu’s performance as secretary-general over the past year. 

The news of the secretary-general’s resignation comes amid heightened public scrutiny of the Judicial Yuan. 

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court is in the middle of reviewing new legislation that would significantly expand the powers of the Legislative Yuan, which is currently led by the Kuomintang (KMT). The Constitutional Court is also preparing to make what may be a controversial ruling on the constitutionality of the death penalty by Sept. 22.