"If I had taken on the debt, I would have lived the life of a failure"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, expressed his apologies to his wife Kim Hye-kyung, who faced intense attacks in 2018 over the so-called 'Hyegyeonggung Kimssi' allegations.
On the 28th, Lee appeared on the YouTube channel 'Kim Yongmin TV' and spoke about the rumors related to his wife Kim Hye-kyung, saying, "There is a kind of moral code that says 'do not touch my family,' but it seems they ignored that and focused their attacks more on my wife than on me."
The Twitter account known as 'Hyegyeonggung Kimssi' was accused of spreading false information such as 'Jeon Hae-cheol, a former Democratic Party preliminary candidate, colluded with the Liberty Korea Party' under the nickname 'For Justice' during the Democratic Party preliminary election for Gyeonggi Governor in April 2018.
Later, claims arose that the owner of this account was Lee’s wife Kim Hye-kyung, and Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hae-cheol filed a lawsuit against 'Hyegyeonggung Kimssi.' However, the prosecution decided not to indict Kim Hye-kyung due to insufficient evidence.
When asked by the host whether there might have been a conspiratorial plot to portray Mrs. Kim Hye-kyung as a villain, Lee replied, "The trial itself was painful. Since I am a former legal professional and had prepared myself for this path, I had some confidence that I would be acquitted, but my wife was different."
He continued, "In front of me, my wife comforted me saying, 'You should live doing something else,' and 'It’s good,' but she couldn’t sleep even after taking sleeping pills," adding, "It’s okay if I don’t do politics, but seeing my wife unable to sleep even with sleeping pills was the most painful."
Regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling acquitting him of charges related to false information disclosure in the 'forced hospitalization of his elder brother' case, he said, "When I heard the Supreme Court was broadcasting live, I thought, 'They must be going to acquit me.' I didn’t think they would execute a prominent politician in front of the public."
When asked about the possibility of having to repay 3.8 billion won in election expenses if he lost at the Supreme Court, he said, "You always have to prepare for the worst, so I couldn’t help but think about Plan B," adding, "I have to live as a person who has lost everything."
He added, "(If I had lost my governorship) I wouldn’t be able to have a normal job and would only be able to engage in abnormal activities, so I thought about traveling around the country to make many comrades."
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