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09-11-2024
SEOUL: South Korea’s president has apologized for a string of controversies surrounding his wife that included allegedly accepting a luxury Dior handbag and stock manipulation.
Addressing the nation on television, Yoon Suk Yeol said his wife, Kim Keon Hee, should have conducted herself better, but her portrayal had been excessively “demonized”, adding that some of the claims against her were “exaggerated”.
The president said he would set up an office to oversee the first lady’s official duties, but rejected a call for an investigation into her activities.
Yoon’s apology came as he tries to reverse a dip in his popularity among the South Korean public, linked to the controversies surrounding his wife.
Late in 2023, left-wing YouTube channel Voice of Seoul published a video that purportedly showed Kim accepting a 3m won ($2,200; £1,800) Dior bag from a pastor, who filmed the exchange in September 2022 using a camera concealed in his watch.
In February, Yoon said that the footage was leaked as a “political manoeuvre”, and did not apologize.
South Korea’s Democratic Party, the opposition to Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, at the time labelled the president’s “shameless attitude” as “hopeless”.
The scandal also caused rifts within Yoon’s party, with one leader comparing Ms Kim with Marie Antoinette, the queen of France notorious for her extravagant lifestyle.
The opposition party has also long accused the first lady of being involved in stock price manipulation. Earlier in the year, Yoon vetoed a bill calling for his wife to be investigated over those allegations.
“… I have caused concerns to the people over issues surrounding those close to me. I believe the position of president is not a place to make excuses. All of this is due to my own shortcomings and lack of virtue. I would like to extend my heartfelt apologies to the public …”
The president and the first lady are suspected to have wielded undue influence in the ruling party candidate nomination process before elections, allegedly maintaining close ties with a power broker.
“Regarding Myung Tae-kyun, I have not done anything inappropriate and I have nothing to hide.”
Suspicions surrounding the first lady’s involvement in politics have further pushed Yoon’s approval ratings to their lowest levels.
“Presidents’ wives help their husbands get elected and do things, hoping to help their husbands to smoothly manage state affairs, without being cursed at. If that is called ‘meddling in state affairs,’ I think the Korean dictionary should be fixed …”
Yoon acknowledged that his wife may be “naive” at times, but argued that she has been “demonized” by those who made her a target of political attacks.
He also condemned the main opposition Democratic Party’s attempts to unilaterally push through a special counsel investigation targeting the first lady, saying this would be unconstitutional if the ruling party does not consent.
For the remainder of his term, Yoon said his government will focus on reducing excessive competition in South Korean society and improve quality of life in regions outside the capital, ultimately increasing the birth rate.
Yoon also pledged to complete his signature medical, pension, labor and education reform campaigns.
To do that, he called for unity but it remains to be seen whether this 140-minute news conference will sway public sentiment in his favor to make that possible. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
