First lady's growing political presence weighs on Yoon

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, walk by an honor guard at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday, before attending a luncheon with family members of patriots and veterans at the memorial museum. Yonhap

Presidential office will not set up office for Kim

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, is amplifying her political presence, meeting former first ladies and attending ceremonies to commemorate patriots last week. Her actions, however, appear to be raising unnecessary controversy, as she has been taking "unofficial" approaches to such official events. This situation comes as pressure to the president because the interest she has stirred up has been overshadowing Yoon's political messages, pundits said.

According to the presidential office, Sunday, Kim attended six events as the first lady from Monday to Saturday. Appearing at six public events in a week is rare compared to her predecessors.

She paid a visit to Kwon Yang-sook, the widow of former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday, and had a luncheon with ruling party lawmakers' wives on Tuesday. On Thursday, Kim visited Lee Soon-ja, the widow of former authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan, and met previous first lady Kim Jung-sook, the wife of Moon Jae-in, in Seoul on Friday.

Also on Friday, she accompanied Yoon to a luncheon with the family members of patriots, followed by attending a commemorative concert for a deceased jet fighter pilot on Saturday.

The presidential office said Kim did not attend Yoon's meeting with residents near the presidential office, because she had "separate work to do." The office did not specify what work that was.

President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, left, poses for a photo with Lee Soon-ja, the widow of authoritarian former leader Chun Doo-hwan, during Kim's visit to Lee's residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of the presidential office

Will Yoon become more approachable leader by lowering doorstep to reporters?

2022-06-19 08:43 | Politics

Kim's actions are in a stark contrast to her earlier promise that she would keep a low-profile as the "quiet wife" of her husband. During Yoon's presidential campaign, she was mired in criticism for falsifying her credentials on resumes used to get academic teaching positions, as well as alleged involvement in the manipulation of the stock price of an imported car dealer.

Following these controversies, she apologized to the public in December, promising that she would focus on supporting Yoon as his "quiet wife." Yoon also made it a campaign pledge that his presidential office would get rid of "the second office of private secretaries," which has been assisting first ladies until now.

Against this backdrop, Kim has been keeping most of her appearances as the first lady unofficial. The presidential office did not announce her meetings with any of the former first ladies and attempted to keep them closed-door meetings, even though the meetings delivered the political message that the presidential couple was taking a bipartisan approach.

Instead, controversies have overshadowed the intentions behind her movements. During her meeting with former President Roh's wife, Kim brought four of her friends along. The presidential office later explained that three out of the four who accompanied her are now working at the office, but the main opposition party is now questioning how they all got jobs at the office.

Since then, Kim's activities have become a news magnet, with news outlets churning out reports on her moves, diverting public attention from pending state affairs such as the economic recovery or North Korea's nuclear threats.

"Kim has promised that she would quietly support Yoon as his spouse, but now everything is about her," Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said during a radio interview on Friday. "While the public is suffering from financial difficulties and the country is seeing a rapidly changing international order, she is creating headlines at the center of controversy every day. There are more articles about her than President Yoon."

Cho Jin-man, a professor of international politics at Duksung Women's University in Seoul, said that under the current system in which there are no official secretaries assisting the first lady, Kim herself is bound to be responsible for any controversies, which is "an unnecessary political pressure for Yoon."

"It seems the presidential office is being hit with unnecessary controversy," Cho said. "The position of first lady has a symbolic meaning of compensating the presidency by doing things that the President might have missed. … In doing so, however, it is important to prevent any mishaps or controversies and have an organization or aides that can be responsible for the first lady's public appearances. With the main opposition party seeking to find fault with the administration, the presidential office may want to manage the first lady's itinerary to avoid any further risks."

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is also raising its voice for an official organization to handle Kim's appearances ― to avoid risks ― even though Yoon would have to break his campaign pledge of not having an office for his wife.

PPP Rep. Ha Tae-keung said in a radio interview on Friday, "The presidential office should set up an organization for Kim even if it has to apologize." Additionally, PPP supreme council member Kim Yong-tae made a comment regarding the necessity of supporting the first lady to prevent unnecessary controversy.

According to aides at the presidential office, it has been ruling out the possibility of setting up an organization to assist Kim, but it is considering having a number of staff members take charge of managing her public image.