People Power Party Proposes 'Kim Hye-kyung Prevention Law' Just One Day After Kim Hye-kyung's Apology

-Punishment for embezzlement of public funds by civil servants' spouses and others, and punishment for those involved in ordering private work of civil servants
-Ruling party: "Please consider the apology and sincerity"... Kim Geon-hee's counterattack on 'Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations'

Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, holds a press conference on the 9th at the Yeouido Central Party Office in Seoul to apologize for the excessive protocol controversy. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The People Power Party has proposed the 'Kim Hye-kyung Prevention Act,' which strictly punishes the embezzlement of public funds by spouses or relatives of public officials. This comes just one day after Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate involved in the protocol controversy, issued an apology statement herself. While the Democratic Party has stated that it will wait for the results of investigations and audits, the People Power Party called it a "meaningless apology" and announced plans for further attacks.

On the 10th, the People Power Party's Election Countermeasures Headquarters announced at the central party office in Yeouido that it would push for the proposal of the 'Kim Hye-kyung Prevention Act,' which focuses on strengthening whistleblower protection and punishing the embezzlement of public funds by spouses and relatives of public officials. A representative from the People Power Party's election headquarters explained the background of the proposal, saying, "It is the result of efforts to find alternatives to eradicate the workplace power harassment culture, which is tantamount to a survival crisis for young people, from the root."

The Kim Hye-kyung Prevention Act mainly includes four key points: ▲ Strengthening whistleblower protection ▲ Specifying punishment provisions for embezzlement of public funds ▲ Punishing those involved in ordering private tasks to public officials ▲ Introducing special inspectors in metropolitan local governments.

First, the act mandates monitoring to protect whistleblowers and imposes strict punishment on those responsible if disadvantages to whistleblowers are confirmed. In particular, detailed punishment provisions are specified for the core issue of the protocol controversy?embezzlement of public funds. For example, the scope of embezzlement by spouses or relatives of public officials is expanded beyond official vehicles and corporate cards to include airline mileage and accumulated points.

The act also includes provisions to punish both superiors who ordered private tasks and interested parties who benefited from them. Jang Ye-chan, head of the Youth Headquarters at the People Power Party's Election Countermeasures Headquarters, explained, "In this case, even if Mr. Bae was the superior who ordered private tasks, the beneficiaries were candidate Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hye-kyung. The purpose is to prevent scapegoating and eradicate workplace harassment culture by establishing legal provisions that can punish the beneficiaries as well."

The introduction of a special inspector system within metropolitan local governments was also proposed. Since each local government has been elevated to the level of local government, they too should be subject to audits. This can also be interpreted as a critique of the special inspector system, which has been effectively neglected since the Moon Jae-in administration took office.

The Democratic Party evaluated that the People Power Party's intention is to keep dragging the issue by mobilizing even legislative proposals while investigations and audits are scheduled. Regarding Kim's apology the day before, Park Chan-dae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party's election headquarters, said, "The previous statement was submitted in writing, but this time she apologized with her own voice and face, expressing regret," and added, "We hope the public will appreciate the sincerity." Yoon Geon-young, chairman of the election headquarters' political affairs committee, also appeared on a radio show that morning and emphasized, "If Kim had clarified each fact, it could have been said that she was providing guidelines for the investigation," and "The key point is defining Mr. A as the victim."

However, public reaction is not favorable. Shin Yul, professor of political science and diplomacy at Myongji University, said, "Kim's apology is hard to consider sufficient. Saying 'I couldn't distinguish between public and private matters' should include specifics on 'how' it happened," and added, "Without concrete examples or explanations of why the distinction was not made, it is uncertain whether the controversy will subside."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has also started additional pressure on Kim Geon-hee, wife of People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl. They mentioned the need for detention and investigation, arguing that Kim, who is suspected of stock price manipulation in Deutsche Motors, was likely the largest shareholder excluding former chairman Kwon Oh-soo and related parties. Kim Byung-gi, standing member of the Democratic Party's Task Force for Current Issues Response, said, "She purchased stocks around the same time as the co-conspirators of the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation, and at the time of the manipulation, her holdings accounted for 7.5% of the circulating shares, so she likely played a significant role in the stock price manipulation," and added, "Kim has even refused to appear for prosecution questioning, and since the matter is serious, if she continues to refuse cooperation with the investigation, detention and investigation will be necessary."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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