Kim Bu-gyeom's Wife: "My Husband Is Embarrassed Because of My Older Brother Lee Young-hoon, Tears Flow"

Former lawmaker Kim Bu-gyeom, who ran for the Democratic Party of Korea's party leader election / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] The wife of former lawmaker Kim Bu-gyeom, who is running for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed that her husband is "in an embarrassing situation" due to her older brother, former Seoul National University professor Lee Young-hoon, author of 'Anti-Japan Tribalism.'

On the 4th, Ms. Lee posted a message titled 'I am Lee Yumi, the wife of former lawmaker Kim Bu-gyeom' on Kim’s Facebook, opening with, "I heard that negative remarks are circulating about lawmaker Kim Bu-gyeom because of Professor Lee Young-hoon, and I want to share my distress."

She explained, "My eldest brother (Lee Young-hoon) was expelled from university and on the run due to student activism. Police frequently raided our home. My third brother was imprisoned for student activism, tried, and served over three years in jail. My younger brother was taken by the police after graduating university for the bombing of the American Cultural Center, tortured, and imprisoned for over two years," adding, "I grew up in a family involved in the democratization movement. I met my husband through my third brother’s introduction and married him in early 1982."

She continued, "I was also taken by the police and the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) three times in 1980, 1986, and 1992," saying, "In 1980, when I was dating, the Gwangju Uprising broke out, and my husband was nationally wanted for the 'Kim Dae-jung Conspiracy Case.' I was working at the Daegu branch of Hanil Bank and was taken from the National Police Agency’s Public Security Division as his girlfriend."

Ms. Lee also revealed, "After marriage, in 1986, when my husband returned to school and ran Baekdu Bookstore in front of Seoul National University, the Gwanak Police Station frequently confiscated books, and when I was pregnant with our second child, I was taken twice while heavily pregnant."

She said that due to Kim’s democratization activism, she was repeatedly taken by the police and ANSP, and in 1992, when Kim was the deputy spokesperson for Kim Dae-jung, her family was accused of being a spy ring, enduring many hardships.

She lamented, "We have gone through such difficult times. I have always believed that my husband’s politics are right and have supported him," adding, "But now, because of my older brother, I don’t know what to do as we face an embarrassing situation."

She concluded, "As I write recalling those painful memories, tears flow," and earnestly requested, "Please look at the path politician Kim Bu-gyeom has walked and kindly understand him widely."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.