"Spouse Risk" Resurfaces... Lee Says "Will Take Responsibility if Issues with Corporate Card Usage Emerge"

Lee, Kim Hye-gyeong Apologize for Emperor's Protocol Controversy
Following Wife's Apology, Direct Damage Control Initiated
People Power Party Announces Full-Scale Offensive Including Complaints
Ruling Party Actively Defends, Demands Investigation Starting with Kim Geon-hee

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Geum Bo-ryeong] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, directly apologized for the controversy surrounding his spouse Kim Hye-kyung’s ‘emperor treatment.’ Following Kim’s apology the previous day, stating "It was all my fault," the candidate himself stepped forward to address the issue.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party, which had been on the defensive due to controversies such as ‘Kim Geon-hee’s academic forgery and the audio recording scandal,’ announced a full-scale offensive by launching the ‘Kim Hye-kyung Emperor Power Abuse Investigation Center.’ The Democratic Party, facing a backlash over ‘spouse verification,’ responded aggressively by demanding "Investigate Kim Geon-hee first." The spouse-related risk is once again expanding significantly as a political issue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 3rd, Lee issued a statement directly expressing his apology. He said, "I apologize for causing concern due to the actions of an employee who worked during my tenure in Gyeonggi Province," adding, "As governor, I failed to thoroughly check whether there was any misconduct by the employee, and my spouse also failed to detect and prevent potentially problematic matters in advance."

Regarding the suspicion that Kim used the Gyeonggi Province corporate card for personal purposes, he stated, "I hope the audit agency will thoroughly investigate whether there was inappropriate use of the corporate card during my governorship and uncover the truth," and added, "If any problems are found, I will take responsibility according to the regulations." The relatively quick acknowledgment and apology are interpreted as an effort to preemptively block the spouse risk from becoming a variable in the remaining presidential election period.

Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil also appeared on KBS Radio that day, saying, "I hope the investigation into Kim Geon-hee is properly conducted first," attempting to shift the focus. However, since the political issue has already shifted to the spouse risk, the dispute is expected to continue.

The People Power Party launched the ‘Kim Hye-kyung Emperor Power Abuse Investigation Center’ directly under the Youth Headquarters of the Central Election Countermeasures Headquarters on the same day. Kwon Young-se, head of the election headquarters, explained at a morning meeting that the center was established "to protect whistleblowers and improve the culture of power abuse in the workplace," urging, "Kim must apologize to the public." After the meeting, Kwon told reporters, "While Kim is responsible, this is also a matter that candidate Lee Jae-myung must take responsibility for," putting pressure on the candidate as well. He emphasized, "Kim is a private individual, but hiring public officials to serve a private individual was done when Lee was governor or mayor," and added, "The greatest responsibility lies with candidate Lee."

Furthermore, the People Power Party requested that the term ‘emperor power abuse’ be used instead of ‘emperor treatment,’ expanding the issue from a matter of morality to a ‘workplace power abuse problem’ faced by young people.

Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, also said on BBS Radio that morning, "The problem is that two public officials hired with local government budgets were assigned exclusively to serve Kim," calling it "misappropriation of resources." On the same day, the People Power Party issued three statements related to Kim Hye-kyung, turning the ‘spouse verification’ weapon, which the Democratic Party used during the Kim Geon-hee controversy, back against the Democratic Party itself.

The People Power Party’s legal support team plans to file a complaint in the afternoon against candidate Lee, Kim, and public official Bae for abuse of authority, coercion, violation of medical law, and other charges.

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