Revival of first lady's office unlikely to turn tables for Yoon: experts
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee walk down a hallway at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 15, 2023, upon returning from a state visit to the Netherlands. Yonhap
The presidential office is considering reinstating an office tasked with assisting first lady Kim Keon Hee, in an apparent effort to address ongoing political turmoil and avert further risks surrounding her. However, political observers said that might not be enough to reverse the public's skepticism about President Yoon Suk Yeol's spouse.
"The president has refrained from installing (the office) as per his campaign pledge. However, if the majority of the public believes that its installation would be beneficial, it will be considered for review," a senior presidential official told reporters, Friday.
Named "the second office," the organization was first installed in 1972 during the Park Chung-hee administration to assist the first lady with her schedule and public messages.
Yoon's office is expected to begin searching for potential candidates for the first lady's secretary as early as this week.
If finalized, this decision would mark a U-turn of Yoon's campaign pledge to dismantle the organization as part of downsizing the presidential office. Since Yoon assumed the presidency in May 2022 without an office for the first lady, controversies have persisted regarding Kim's "unofficial" public appearances and the appropriateness of her personal aides who lacked official titles.
Park Sang-byung, a political commentator and a professor at Inha University, welcomed the "belated decision" to reinstall the first lady's office, which would increase transparency in Kim's itinerary and the budget spent on her activities.
"The presidential office said that the restoration of the first lady's office is in response to public demands. But it was the president who initially rejected setting up the office, not the public. The government should acknowledge this and express regret about retracting the promise," Park said.
Given the timing of the announcement, Park suggested that the revival of the organization is more aimed at diluting criticism about Yoon's recent exercise of his veto power.
"Yoon's office seems to believe that committing to better management of the first lady's public messages could lead to a breakthrough in addressing criticisms that the president has used his veto power to shield his wife. However, such a notion may only provoke public backlash about Yoon's handling of his family issues," he said.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and three minor opposition parties hold a rally at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday, to protest President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto of a bill on a special counsel investigation into his wife Kim Keon Hee. Yonhap
On Friday, Yoon vetoed a bill that sought a special counsel investigation into his wife's alleged involvement in stock manipulation of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealership here, between 2009 and 2012. Kwon Oh-soo, the former head of Deutsch Motors, was convicted last February on charges of manipulating the company's stock prices.
The presidential office saw the bill, passed on Dec. 29 at the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as a strategic political maneuver aimed at undermining the Yoon administration in the run-up to the April 10 general elections.
Some critics questioned whether reinstating the office could fundamentally change the unfavorable public views toward the first lady.
"I agree on the need to reinstate the office which will help Kim to convey messages and make public appearances in a more organized way," said Eom Gyeong-yeong, director of private political think tank Zeitgeist Institute.
"But will the launch of the office change the public's negative opinions about the first lady? I don't think so."
First lady Kim Keon Hee holds a dog at an animal protection center in Amsterdam, Dec. 14, during President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the Netherlands. Joint Press Corps
The fundamental reason for public skepticism surrounding Kim is her apparent failure to keep her earlier promise of maintaining a low profile, Eom said.
During Yoon's presidential campaign, Kim was mired in a slew of controversies for falsifying her credentials on resumes used to get academic teaching positions — which she partially admitted to — as well as the alleged involvement in the stock price manipulation.
Kim, who issued an apology ahead of the elections, had promised that she would focus on supporting Yoon as his "quiet wife," if her husband was elected.
Contrary to her promise, Kim has become one of the most attention-grabbing first ladies in the country's history. She has made numerous headlines not only for her fashion style but also for controversies surrounding her taking a "civilian" acquaintance on overseas state visits, and for improperly receiving a designer handbag from a pastor.
In that regard, Eom said the presidential office should actively push for an appointment of an independent inspector general, tasked with dealing corruption cases involving the president's relatives and aides, to prevent further risks surrounding the first lady.