Yoon on Hiring of Sixth Cousin Secretary: "An Official Comrade Who Campaigned Together"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Seok-yeol defended his senior administrative officer Choi, a relative, amid controversy over Choi's work in the presidential office, saying, "He has been a comrade who has worked hard officially in the Ima (building) camp and at our party headquarters since I first started politics."

On the morning of the 8th, while heading to the Yongsan Presidential Office, President Yoon responded to reporters' questions about the Democratic Party of Korea's criticism of the controversy surrounding a civilian boarding the presidential aircraft and the hiring of a maternal sixth cousin, calling it "privatization of power," by making the above statement.

Regarding Shin, the spouse of Lee Won-mo, the Presidential Office Personnel Secretary, accompanying President Yoon and his wife to the NATO summit held in Spain, he refrained from commenting, saying, "I think the spokesperson has already addressed the NATO delegation issue."

Mr. A departed for Spain five days ahead of President Yoon and his wife as part of the advance team and boarded the presidential aircraft, the No. 1 plane, upon returning.

In response, the Presidential Office stated that since Mr. A was classified as "other staff" and did not receive separate compensation, there was no room for preferential treatment or conflict of interest. They also stated that Mr. A had professional expertise, including experience in planning international exchange events, which helped with local event planning.

Meanwhile, regarding former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who held a bilateral meeting with President Yoon during the NATO visit and announced his resignation the day before, President Yoon said, "I also met him at NATO and thought he was a very dynamic person," adding, "I have not closely followed the specific internal situation in the UK."

On the 30th of last month, President Yoon held a summit with Prime Minister Johnson in Madrid, Spain, and adopted the "A Bilateral Framework for Closer Cooperation," encompassing the future vision of bilateral relations between the two countries.

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