Yoon under fire for nepotism, cronyism allegations

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee applaud during a dinner with Koreans living in Spain at a hotel in Madrid, June 29. Courtesy of the presidential office

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee seem to be caught in never-ending controversies over their friends and relatives working at the presidential office, with mounting suspicions that nepotism or cronyism are behind the appointments of some of their aides.

According to the presidential office, Thursday, a senior assistant secretary working at the presidential office is a relative on Yoon's mother's side, but his employment is completely lawful and there are no shortcomings in his qualifications.

"He has been working for Yoon since the presidential transition committee, assisting the president very closely," its official said. "If he had been working at the office without proper qualifications, it would have already been a problem. Also, his employment does not violate any law."

The law the official was referring to was the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest Related to Duties of Public Servants, in which a public institution bans the employment of spouses, lineal ascendants and descendants of its high-ranking officials.

The explanation came after local broadcaster KBS reported Wednesday that the senior assistant secretary, surnamed Choi, is now working at the presidential office and taking care of matters related to Yoon's wife, Kim, comparing the case with the scandal of former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and imprisoned after allowing her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to intervene in state affairs.

"Calling a person working at an official organization 'unofficial' is blatant framing," the official said.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee walk at El Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain, on June 28, a day before the 2022 NATO Summit. Courtesy of the presidential office

The controversy arose as the presidential office has been struggling with allegations that the wife of the presidential secretary for personnel affairs, surnamed Shin, accompanied the president on his recent trip to Spain even though Shin was not an official staff member of the presidential office.

The office explained that Shin joined the trip as "a special aide" to assist Yoon's meeting with Koreans living in Spain, which took place on June 29, but she was not listed as an employee of the presidential office. She also reportedly visited Spain to plan the event before Yoon's visit, meaning that she was aware of the president's detailed itinerary, which is confidential official information.

Shin is known for her family business, running one of the largest traditional Korean medicine hospital groups in Korea. Also, she is reportedly a close confidante of the presidential couple, as President Yoon introduced Shin to her husband, who was then a prosecutor. Additionally, Shin and her mother, surnamed Jeon, each donated 10 million won ($7,700) to Yoon during his presidential campaign, according to a list of donors revealed by the National Election Commission at the request of Newstapa.

Amid the controversy, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been raising serious concerns.

"It seems to be that Shin joined Yoon's trip to play the role of a chat partner for the first lady, and this is insane," DPK interim chief Rep. Woo Sang-ho said in a radio interview, Thursday. "I believe the National Assembly's House Steering Committee should look into the case officially."

Criticisms have been raised that the couple lacks awareness of what constitutes nepotism and cronyism.

When the first lady visited the hometown of former President Roh Moo-hyun, June 13, to meet his widow, Kwon Yang-sook, Kim was accompanied by an unidentified woman, who later turned out to be an old friend and the managing director of her exhibition planning company, Covana Contents, when Kim was the head.

In naming official presidential secretaries, Yoon's reliance on former prosecutors has also caused controversy. So far, 15 former prosecutors were appointed to minister-level posts or presidential secretary jobs, and they include the justice minister, unification minister, Financial Supervisory Service governor and prime minister's chief of staff.

Regarding the criticisms of prosecutors dominating the top positions in his administration, Yoon refuted on June 8 that "members of a liberal lawyers' group dominated key government jobs during the previous administration," but ended up falling into further controversy as a result of his comment blaming the previous government.

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