Yoon, PPP chief meet at market fire site after clash over first lady, election nominations

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon meet at the site of a market fire in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, Jan. 23. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon met Tuesday at the site of a market fire, apparently seeking to repair their relationship after clashing over allegations involving the first lady and party nominations for the upcoming general elections.

Yoon and Han of the People Power Party (PPP) traveled separately to the central county of Seocheon to inspect a fisheries market destroyed by a fire the previous night.

Their meeting came amid reports of a rift between the two over how to handle allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee received a luxury bag as a gift in 2022 and Han's public support for a PPP emergency leadership committee member seeking to run for a parliamentary seat in a district in Seoul's Mapo Ward.

Han has long been one of Yoon's closest confidants, and the public disagreement threatened to hurt the ruling party with less than three months to go until the April 10 parliamentary elections. (Yonhap)