PPP urges Cheong Wa Dae to clarify first lady's golf allegations
Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, second from left, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks in a party leadership meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yohap
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday urged the presidential office to clarify allegations that first lady Kim Hea Kyung received private golf lessons from a prominent professional golfer at a military-run golf course.
PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig said Cheong Wa Dae should establish the facts surrounding allegations over the first lady's golf lessons, which were first disclosed by PPP lawmaker Joo Jin-woo earlier this week.
Joo alleged Monday that the wife of President Lee Jae Myung received "imperial-style" golf lessons from a world-renowned golfer at Taereung Golf Club in northern Seoul on Oct. 20, the day when a man in his 70s set fire to two buildings in southern Seoul, leaving five people seriously injured and 14 others with minor injuries.
Cheong Wa Dae immediately dismissed Joo's claim as "groundless" and urged the press to exercise caution in reporting the allegations.
The PPP floor leader criticized the presidential office for characterizing media reports citing Joo's claims as the dissemination of false information, describing the stance as a form of media control and a reporting directive commonly associated with a dictatorship.
He also criticized Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo, chair of the National Assembly's legislation and judiciary committee, for blocking Joo from playing a video of the first lady allegedly playing golf during a committee meeting on Monday.
Jeong then urged new presidential special inspector Choi Kil-su to honor his inaugural pledge to uphold political neutrality and professional independence by conducting a thorough inspection into the allegations surrounding the first lady's "imperial-style" golf outing.
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, a five-term PPP lawmaker, wrote on Facebook, "What exactly has Cheong Wa Dae labeled as false? Is it the fact that golf was played, the claim that lessons were received from a professional golfer, or the allegation that special treatment was provided?"