Namyang dairy chairman's wife accused of violating social distancing rule

The headquarters of Namyang Dairy Products in southern Seoul / Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

Lee Woon-kyung, 69, the wife of Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, has been accused of violating social distancing rules by holding a dinner gathering of more than 10 people at her house in June, according to police, Sunday.

It was her former housekeeper who reported the violation to the police.

When Lee hosted the party, a social distancing measure prohibiting private gatherings of more than four people was in effect in the Seoul metropolitan area. In addition, the incentive system for vaccination, such as lifting the gathering ban for fully vaccinated individuals, had not yet been implemented.

Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik sheds tears while announcing his plan to step down from his post during a press conference at the company headquarters in Seoul in this May 4 photo. Korea Times file

A woman who had worked as a housekeeper at the chairman's house earlier this year filed the complaint along with photos taken during the dinner party as evidence, according to the police.

Police said that they plan to question Lee soon. According to the law on infectious diseases, Lee and the party participants are subject to fines of up to 3 million won ($2,553).

In response, Lee said, through a Namyang Dairy official, that she held the party to thank the people who had helped her with an event held in Busan in May, when she was the head of the Art Busan organizing committee.

“(At that time) I had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the guests from overseas had been fully vaccinated. But I should have abided strictly by the social distancing rules, and I am sorry about that,” she said.

In particular, Lee's hosting of the party came after her husband Hong made a public apology in May, when the company came under fire for an exaggerated report that its yogurt drink Bulgaris could help prevent infections of COVID-19.

At that time, Hong pledged to resign from his post and not to hand over the management rights to his children, but he remains in his position.