"Perfectly in Sync Like Hands and Feet, Definitely a Married Couple" People Power Party Fiercely Criticizes Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hye-kyung Over 'Corporate Card Allegations'

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and his wife Kim Hye-kyung are walking to visit their parents' graves in Seonsan, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk, on the Lunar New Year holiday, February 1.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The People Power Party has classified the allegations related to Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, as criminal acts and urged a thorough investigation. At the same time, they demanded a public apology from the candidate and his resignation from the candidacy.

Jang Soon-chil, the full-time deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, criticized on the 5th in a statement, saying, "They are a couple who stop at nothing when it comes to money-making, and there is no doubt that they are a perfectly coordinated couple both inside and out."

Regarding the suspicion of a dedicated public official for Kim, Deputy Spokesperson Jang said, "It is a special mission assigned to a public official who should serve and dedicate themselves to the residents, to work for the comfortable life of the governor's wife."

He added, "No matter how much they try to excuse it, the position of the public official in charge is practically equivalent to a 'modern-day public slave,' and using public officials for personal purposes while wasting public funds is a clear criminal act."

Full-time Deputy Spokesperson Heo Jeong-hwan mentioned the purchase of lotion listed in the 'errand list' in his statement. Heo said, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung, who always pretends to be a man of the people and claims to care for the commoners, was found to be using a luxury Hermes lotion priced at 98,000 KRW per 100mL, unheard of by ordinary people," adding, "After the 'corporate card beef and sushi' and 'corporate card sandwich' incidents, this is no longer surprising."

He then demanded the disclosure of related card details, saying, "If they refuse or claim it was a cash purchase, it is hard not to suspect that they sent a public official to Seoul to buy something that is not even sold at the department store in Bundang using the corporate card."

Full-time Deputy Spokesperson Kim Jae-hyun stated, "There are increasing signs that public officials were used as errand runners for Chuseok gifts for relatives and ancestral rites," and claimed, "It is beyond embarrassing and almost frightening to think about what other ugly abuses of power and embezzlement might be revealed." He also criticized, saying, "We might even need to enact a 'Kim Hye-kyung Corporate Card Ban Act.'"

The People Power Party released about ten statements related to Kim's allegations on this weekend alone.

Lee Jun-seok, the party leader visiting Ulsan, appeared to target the suspicions surrounding the candidate couple during a party member event, saying, "We have chosen a really good candidate this time. As many recognize, candidate Yoon Seok-youl was fair even while working as a public official," and praised Yoon, saying, "No matter which government it was, he carried out his duties with integrity when issues arose."

He continued, "If the Democratic Party uses the same logic to attack our candidate's spouse, then Lee Jae-myung is not even qualified to be a candidate, and his spouse should also be under investigation," he emphasized.

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