Photo : KBS News
Anchor: Political wrangling is intensifying over first lady Kim Keon-hee’s alleged involvement in party politics ahead of the elections in April this year. Amid numerous media reports about contacts between the first lady and a power broker, the main opposition is pressing the presidential couple to address the controversy. The ruling party is questioning the credibility of this new figure and calling for an investigation.
Kim Bum-soo has more.
Report: First lady Kim Keon-hee is at the center of another brewing controversy, this time, centering on her alleged attempts to interfere in the candidate nomination process for the general elections six months ago.
Ahead of the polls in April, former People Power Party Rep. Kim Young-sun is said to have sought assistance from Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed “political consultant,” while campaigning for the party’s nomination as a candidate.
Myung allegedly brought the matter to the first lady.
Kim Young-sun didn’t get the nomination, but amid a flurry of media reports Myung added fuel to the fire by boasting in an interview with a local daily that he had close ties not only to the first lady but also President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The presidential office acknowledged that Yoon and Myung had met but said the president had no reason to seek advice from the man, whose occupation it said was unclear.
However, opposition lawmakers are already likening the situation to the influence-peddling scandal that brought down former President Park Geun-hye and her unofficial confidant, Choi Soon-sil.
During a party meeting Thursday, main opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae pressed the president to address the situation involving his already embattled wife.
Ruling PPP lawmakers are downplaying the controversy, accusing Myung of bluffing and exaggerating his influence in South Korean politics.
At the PPP supreme council meeting Thursday, party chief Han Dong-hoon called for a swift investigation into Myung, calling him a “political imposter.”
Myung told a South Korean newspaper earlier this week that if he is sent to prison, the administration will collapse within a month, threatening to disclose more information that can hurt the president.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.