Baek Hyunjin: "Kim Jung-sook's Visit to India... Investigation Should Start with Former President Moon"

"Feels like a confession... It seems he stabbed himself"
"As an accomplice, an investigation into Mrs. Kim may proceed"

Baek Hyun-jin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In the memoir published by former President Moon Jae-in, the 2018 visit of First Lady Kim Jung-sook to India was described as the 'first solo diplomatic mission by a First Lady,' sparking sharp disputes between the ruling and opposition parties. In this context, People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin argued, "Since the main actor is former President Moon, he should be investigated first."

On the 21st, during SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Lawmaker Bae explained the background of her SNS post saying, "It's interesting, what nonsense is this so casually," by stating, "(After seeing related articles) I felt it was a confession from the former president." She added, "If he had stayed quiet, the public probably wouldn't have remembered, so I don't understand why he wrote such content in his memoir. It seems he has painful feelings toward the president's wife and children. It looks like he felt guilty himself."

Lawmaker Bae claimed, "There was no budget for the First Lady's diplomatic trip in the national budget. If it had been planned, it would have been included when the national budget was applied for a year in advance." She continued, "The budget for the First Lady's trip to India was requested as a supplementary budget by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and approved within just three days." She added, "There is no precedent for us to have allocated such a budget," and speculated, "It is presumed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to allocate the budget under the item 'Korea-India Cultural Cooperation' through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism."

She further stated, "We confirmed the related facts during the 2022 National Assembly audit, but the matter quietly disappeared," and conveyed, "Democratic Party lawmaker Han Byung-do also said that the facts of this case were not properly understood."

Referring to the fact that First Lady Kim is currently under investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust involving public funds, Lawmaker Bae asserted, "The main culprit of the case is former President Moon," and argued, "The subject of the crime of public fund loss is the person responsible for the execution of the accounting." She added, "This is our claim. It is a very strong suspicion and a reasonable argument."

Lawmaker Bae claimed that the Indian side initially invited the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, but on our side, it was said, 'The First Lady will go,' and thus the Indian side sent an invitation letter to the First Lady again. She said, "There is an institution called KTV that promotes our policies. In the video, the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs is captured reacting with surprise, saying, 'We really did not expect the First Lady to come.'"

She then raised her voice, saying that the investigation of former President Moon should begin before the investigation of First Lady Kim. She said, "Because the main actor is former President Moon. The investigation of First Lady Kim can proceed simultaneously as an accomplice."