Kim Geon-hee Meets Senior Protestant Pastor Kim Jang-hwan Introduced by Yoon... Pastor Kim Offers Encouragement, "It Can Be Overcome"

Kim Gun-hee, CEO of Kobana Contents and wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] It has been revealed that Kim Gunhee, CEO of Kobana Contents and wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, recently met twice with Kim Jang-hwan, a senior figure in the Christian community.

According to the People Power Party on the 29th, Kim visited Far East Broadcasting in Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu, where Pastor Kim serves as chairman, around mid-December last year. This was before the so-called '7-hour phone call' controversy arose.

Kim confided in Pastor Kim about the mental distress she personally experienced after Yoon became Prosecutor General, and Pastor Kim comforted her by saying, "You can overcome it with patience." Earlier this month, Kim visited Pastor Kim again without any aides, driving herself, and spent time in prayer and meditation.

The meetings between Kim and Pastor Kim were reportedly arranged at Yoon's suggestion. Previously, Yoon met Pastor Kim at the funeral of the late Pastor Cho Yong-gi in September last year, where Pastor Kim told Yoon, "You must believe in God."

However, those close to Kim say these meetings are unrelated to her public activities. Representatives from Kim's side explained in a phone call, "Kim has frequently interacted with religious figures in the past," "This has nothing to do with the presidential election or politics," and "Reports that Kim will appear around mid-next month are unfounded at this time."

Meanwhile, it is reported that during the People Power Party primary period, Kim continued to hold private meetings not only with Protestant figures, with whom she built relationships through exhibition planning projects, but also with Catholic and Buddhist figures. Previously, in the so-called '7-hour phone call' transcript, Kim made remarks such as "I like talking with shamans," which sparked controversy related to shamanism.