"Must Apologize Now"... People Power Party Voices Erupt Over 'Kim Geon-hee Risk'

Handonghun "Receiving Luxury Bags, There Are Concerns"
Voices for Public Apology Within People Power Party
Criticism That "Diagnosis Has Changed, but Prescription Remains the Same"

Ahead of the general election, voices have begun to emerge within the People Power Party calling for First Lady Kim Geon-hee to apologize for the luxury handbag controversy and to limit her role.

On the 18th, Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, met with reporters and said regarding the luxury handbag controversy involving the First Lady, "Basically, it was planned from the start as a trap hidden camera," but added, "I think there are regrettable points and concerning aspects in the process before and after." He continued, "That is why I proactively mentioned the review of the Second Secretariat and the Special Inspector." This marks a heightened awareness of the issue compared to previous suggestions that only proposed introducing the Second Secretariat as a solution.

On the 12th of last month (local time), Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was on a state visit to the Netherlands, greeted a mother dog raising six surviving puppies after losing several puppies due to infection during pregnancy at the Amsterdam Animal Protection Foundation's pet dog residence. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, some point out that while the diagnosis has changed, the prescription remains the same. Kim Bong-shin, director of Metavoice, criticized, "(Chairman Han) somewhat agrees with the diagnosis but the prescription has not changed." Kim said, "For the People Power Party, a shift in stance is inevitable considering the general election," adding, "Since the First Lady already apologized during the presidential election, voices are emerging that an apology alone is insufficient. It seems that other methods are needed."

This issue, which had only been implicitly mentioned, has recently come to the surface. Kim Kyung-yul, a member of the People Power Party emergency committee who was the first within the party to publicly mention the First Lady’s apology, said in a CBS radio interview on the same day, "It has not been brought up as an agenda item in the emergency committee, but it has been discussed," and added, "It should have been expressed earlier; it just came out through me." Kim said, "We must seek forgiveness by all means and methods enough to turn the hearts of the people."

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, also said on the same radio program the day before that the claim that the First Lady should apologize is "the majority opinion within our party," adding, "The Democratic Party’s strategy is to carry the First Lady risk, but our party’s majority stance is that this should be resolved before the election." Ha said, "The First Lady said during the presidential election that she would faithfully fulfill the role of a wife," and added, "She broke that promise, so now she should refrain from domestic activities and only participate in international events with the President in accordance with international manners."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office has decided not to directly respond to reactions within the ruling party related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee. This is interpreted as an effort to reduce the spread of controversy surrounding the First Lady and to avoid public actions that could potentially affect the general election. A Presidential Office official said, "We are listening to various opinions coming from the ruling party," but avoided specific comments. When asked whether the Presidential Office is coordinating messages with the ruling party, the official distanced themselves by saying, "As far as I know, the Presidential Office does not coordinate messages with the ruling party on such issues." Another official retorted, "What can we say about freely expressed opinions within the party?" The First Lady, who had an active public schedule in 2022 and early last year, has not appeared publicly for 35 days since returning to Seoul Airport on December 15 last year after a state visit to the Netherlands with President Yoon.

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