[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Ruling party lawmakers have responded to the opposition, who have been continuously criticizing First Lady Kim Keon-hee during her visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with President Yoon Suk-yeol, by citing the example of First Lady Kim Jung-sook.
On the 17th, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, stated on his social media service (SNS), "Their criticism is the height of hypocrisy (romance when I do it, adultery when others do it) when looking back at First Lady Kim Jung-sook's actions."
The first to launch attacks against First Lady Kim was former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, who recently rejoined the Democratic Party. He appeared on a local broadcast and pointed out, "I have never seen the First Lady wear military uniform." Additionally, Kim Nam-guk, a member of the same party, criticized on his SNS, "I don't know who the president is," and Jung Chung-rae also made a similar remark, saying, "Looking at the photo of the visit to the UAE where someone is greeted upon arrival at the airport, it looks like Kim Keon-hee is the president in the center, and President Yoon Suk-yeol is like her husband on the side."
However, contrary to their claims, First Lady Kim Jung-sook also wore military uniform during her visit to the UAE, so Kim Keon-hee is not the first 'First Lady in military uniform.' Tae pointed out, "First Lady Kim Jung-sook wore the exact same military uniform as Kim Keon-hee when she visited the UAE ARC unit with former President Moon Jae-in in 2018, and she also appeared wearing a Marine Corps combat uniform when she visited Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea on December 23, 2021."
The photo criticized by Jung, showing "Kim Keon-hee as the president in the center," can also be countered with a similar case involving Kim Jung-sook. Tae stated, "(Kim Jung-sook) holds the title of being the first First Lady to walk ahead of the president, disregarding protocol order, during the farewell ceremony before returning from Laos in 2019. All these incidents occurred in the recent past when the Democratic Party was the ruling party."
People Power Party lawmaker Jo Su-jin also responded by sharing side-by-side on her SNS a screenshot of former Director Park Ji-won's interview article along with an article reporting on First Lady Kim Jung-sook's past military uniform wearing.
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