[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Democratic Party's Election Countermeasures Committee's Task Force (TF) on Current Issues urged an investigation, pointing out that the salary of Yoon Seok-yeol's wife, Kim Geon-hee, significantly increased after Yoon was appointed as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
On the 28th, the Democratic Party cited Yoon's written response submitted during the past confirmation hearing for the Prosecutor General appointment, stating that Kim's salary at 'Kobana Contents' was around 28 million KRW for several years. After Yoon became the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, she received a bonus of 50 million KRW, and the following year, her annual salary was 52 million KRW with a bonus of 244 million KRW.
Regarding this, the TF said, "We cannot help but raise doubts whether the salary increase was a distribution of ‘bribery-like sponsorship’ from companies conscious of Yoon, then head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, as the spouse." They added, "Since she was the ‘spouse of a public official,’ who is prohibited from receiving money under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, a prompt investigation by the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is necessary to determine if there was any illicit intent between the sponsorship funds and the bonuses."
The People Power Party rebutted these allegations as 'absurd false accusations.'
Lee Yang-su, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated, "Kim has consistently hosted and organized world-renowned exhibitions regardless of Yoon Seok-yeol's political setbacks, starting with the Andy Warhol exhibition in 2009, the Mark Rothko exhibition in 2015, the Le Corbusier exhibition in 2016, and the Giacometti exhibition in 2018, even before their marriage." He added, "Calling the fact that many companies bought tickets and had their names on promotional materials for famous exhibitions ‘bribery’ is a ‘disrespectful remark’ toward the culture and arts community."
Regarding the salary increase, he said, "Kim received a monthly salary in the low 2 million KRW range with a mission to bring world-famous exhibitions to Korea, using her personal funds for business expenses over several years. It was only in 2018 that her CEO salary was raised to about 4 million KRW, and the bonuses were merely compensation for leading the business while spending personal money for over a decade." He questioned, "What is the problem with paying taxes and receiving bonuses?"
The spokesperson also criticized, "Isn't it a big issue that Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, had a Grade 5 administrative officer as her personal secretary in Gyeonggi Province in 2018?" He added, "Hiring Ms. Bae as a Grade 5 administrative officer in Gyeonggi Province but having her do nothing for the residents and only serve Kim for three years wasted taxpayers' money."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
