Yoon remains cautious on addressing allegations against first lady
President Yoon Suk Yeol exits an event hall at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Jan. 26, after awarding credentials to new ambassadors. Joint Press Corps
President Yoon Suk Yeol is still contemplating how to deal with the allegations that his wife Kim Keon Hee received a Christian Dior bag as a gift in an inappropriate manner.
It appears that the two possible scenarios are either to hold a televised interview to address the controversy or remain tightlipped on the issue to avoid giving the opposition ammunition ahead of April's general elections.
According to sources at the presidential office, they are yet to decide how to communicate with the public on the occasion of the Lunar New Year — from Feb. 9 to 12.
An official said Yoon’s aides have already delivered “various scenarios” of Yoon engaging with the public, but “nothing has been confirmed so far.”
Reportedly, working-level aides have already delivered their opinion that the best possible scenario is Yoon taking part in a pre-recorded televised interview with broadcaster KBS, but the president has yet to make a decision.
Korean presidents have often engaged with the public through a New Year press conference or other types of communication methods, but Yoon has not held press conferences on domestic issues since Aug. 17, 2022, during his first 100 days in office.
Due to this, calls are growing that Yoon should communicate with the public this time, but the office has been taking a cautious stance on holding a press conference in line with concerns about possible questions related to Kim’s luxury bag controversy. Also, Yoon’s veto on a special counsel probe bill related to other allegations that the first lady was involved in a stock manipulation scandal.
Voice of Seoul, a liberal YouTube-based news channel, claimed in November that the first lady had been gifted the Christian Dior handbag valued at around 3 million won ($2,240) from a pastor in September 2022, who then later, released video footage of the incident. The video was filmed secretly by the pastor using a camera watch device.
First lady Kim Keon Hee visits the United Nations Peace Memorial Hall in Busan, July 27, 2023, to see an exhibition on the Canadian Armed Force's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. Courtesy of presidential office
Despite the presidential office’s efforts to prevent questions about the first lady stealing the show, the handbag controversy continued to snowball, with influential foreign news outlets also reporting on the issue. This aggravated public sentiment toward not only the first lady but also the entire Yoon administration, and triggered calls for Yoon to explain the controversies to prevent the negative sentiment from spilling over onto the entire ruling bloc.
According to a poll by Realmeter, released Monday, Yoon’s job approval rating stood at 36.2 percent in the fourth week of January, down 0.6 percentage points from a week earlier. The negative sentiment reached 60 percent, up 0.2 percentage points during the same period.
In a poll by Gallup Korea, released on Thursday, 63 percent of respondents said Yoon is not performing his role correctly, and 9 percent of them cited “the issue of first lady” as the reason for their disapproval.
The Realmeter poll surveyed 2,506 from Jan. 22 to 26 at the request of the newspaper Energy Economy. The Gallup Korea poll surveyed 1,001 from Jan. 23 to 25. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.
Former President Park Geun-hye bows during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Oct. 25, to apologize for her civilian confidant who received drafts of Park's speeches. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon
Even if Yoon tackles controversies surrounding his wife during a televised interview, his remarks are anticipated to concentrate on stressing that Kim is a victim of a set-up using a spy cam, and the presidential office will employ measures to prevent such acts.
On Jan. 19, the presidential office said “the pastor asked Kim to meet several times, citing that their family members are acquaintances.”
Asking for anonymity, a different source at the presidential office said “even if there’s an interview, there is a fairly good chance that Yoon will not apologize, because the office believes Kim is the victim of a set-up using a spy cam, and hasty apologies may end up giving the opposition a chance to amplify its criticisms of the first lady, not state affairs.”
Against the backdrop, some of Yoon’s secretaries reportedly voiced opinions that Yoon should not follow in the footsteps of former conservative President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in 2017 for her involvement in a corruption scandal.
On Oct. 25, 2016, a day after a news report that Park’s civilian confidant Choi Soon-sil had received drafts of 44 presidential speeches, the former president apologized to the public, saying that she asked for Choi’s advice before the presidential team was fully operational. However, reports continued on Park’s relations with Choi, resulting in the public demanding that Park step down.
In her memoir, former president Park said that the apology “was an irreversible mistake,” because she intended to apologize for asking for advice from Choi, but the public interpreted it as the president’s admission that Choi was deeply involved in a lot of the state's affairs.
Ruling People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Lee Yong, who is one of the closest lawmakers to President Yoon, wrote on the PPP lawmakers’ Telegram chatroom on Jan. 20 that “former President Park was impeached because she apologized” and “as soon as (Yoon) apologizes, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea will never stop going after this issue.”