President Moon says, "Come to Yangsan and investigate"... Tak Hyun-min raises 'gold bar suspicion' amid Kim's 'clothing cost controversy'

"'Clothing Cost Controversy' Similar to 2015 President Moon's 'Gold Bar Suspicion'"

On the 3rd, Tak Hyun-min, the Blue House Protocol Secretary, shared a video of President Moon Jae-in's Himalayan mountain climb from 2016 on Facebook. Photo by Secretary Tak, Facebook capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Tak Hyun-min, the Blue House Protocol Secretary, criticized the 'clothing cost controversy' surrounding First Lady Kim Jung-sook, saying it is similar in nature to the 'gold bar suspicion' that was raised against former President Moon Jae-in in the past. The gold bar suspicion that surfaced in 2015 was an unverified conspiracy theory claiming that then-New Politics Alliance for Democracy leader Moon had hidden hundreds of tons of gold bars.

On the 3rd, Secretary Tak posted on his Facebook, "There is a record from 2016 during a Himalayan mountain hike where we talked about gold bars," and released a video.

The released video shows President Moon dressed in hiking clothes having a conversation with his companions. According to Secretary Tak, on that day, when asked, "Where do you usually keep your valuables, Representative?" Moon smiled and replied, "Come to Yangsan and dig it up once," which can be interpreted as a joking response implying that the gold bar suspicion surrounding him was absurd.

Secretary Tak also targeted a broadcasting station that reported on the 'gold bar suspicion' when it first emerged. He stated, "When a hostage incident occurred at then-Busan Moon Jae-in's office demanding the release of 200 tons of gold bars, one program said that the incident happened because President Moon did not give an answer (that there were no gold bars) to the hostage taker and that he should have met and negotiated with the hostage taker."

He added, "Another program from the same broadcaster said, 'I wonder if President Moon gave some pretext,' and even said, 'I wonder if this was to exploit President Moon's weaknesses,'" criticizing the broadcaster's biased commentary on the hostage incident caused by the unverified gold bar suspicion.

This hostage incident was a farce caused by a man in his 50s who believed the 'gold bar suspicion' against then-New Politics Alliance for Democracy leader Moon Jae-in in 2015. This man believed the rumor that President Moon had hidden 20 trillion won worth of 20 checks and 200 tons of gold bars in the yard of his residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, and broke into Moon's office in the Sasang district of Busan, taking hostages before being arrested.

Earlier on the 1st, Secretary Tak also compared the clothing cost controversy against the First Lady to the 'gold bar controversy,' calling it a "pointless debate." He pointed out, "The First Lady's wardrobe, this pointless debate, has now moved to police investigation. Even those who initially raised the issue have reached the point of pleading to focus more on the essence, which is the special activity expenses."

He added, "When I think of the First Lady's wardrobe, I recall Moon Jae-in's gold bars that became the subject of countless media and public attention five years ago. People who demanded the disclosure of 20 trillion won worth of gold bars at the Yangsan residence, who said let's go find them, and the media that reported on it," expressing his frustration.