 The wristwatch on the right is the luxurious foreign Franck Muller brand, which the United New Democratic Party alleges Kim Yoon-ok owns. The watch on the left is the local brand, Romanson. The major opposition party Grand National Party presented photos of the two wristwatches to the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The wife of presidential frontrunner Lee Myung-bak sued a spokesperson of the ruling party for distributing false information, resulting in harming her reputation.
Lee's wife Kim Yoon-ok filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Rep. Kim Hyun-mee, spokesperson of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP), calling for 100 million won in compensation for tarnishing her personal image and inflicting mental suffering.
In the lawsuit, she said that the spokesperson's announcement that her wristwatch is a brand name product, Franck Muller which costs around 15 million won each, is not true at all. The watch in question is mass-produced by local brand Romanson, costing around 70,000 won. Even though the spokesperson of the UNDP was aware of the fact that the comment was not true, she deliberately circulated the information with the hope of damaging the reputation of herself and her husband.
The ruling party, which raised questions regarding the product, kept its initial stance.
``It is true that the wristwatch of Lee Myung-bak's wife is a luxury brand. We confirmed the fact from a retailer dealing with the same products,'' Rep. Kim told The Korea Times. ``The law, in the end, will conclude whether my announcement is true or not.''
The UNDP spokesperson unveiled a photo showing Kim wearing the controversial watch on July 27 at a convention held in Ulsan.
The lawmaker alleged that the watch costs more than 15 million won and can be bought exclusively at two luxurious hotels in Korea. She also speculated that it was possible the watch was smuggled into the country, not going through proper import procedures.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
