The Appearance of Myeong Taegyun and Kim Daenam Sparks 'Allegations of Kim Geonhee's Interference in Nomination'
Opposition to Re-push Special Prosecutor Bill After National Audit... Accelerating Impeachment Crisis
Calls for Kim's 'Apology' and 'Restraint from Public Activities' Surge Within Ruling Party
First Lady Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, has found herself at the center of impeachment attacks from opposition parties against the Yoon administration.
Kim, who was embroiled in various allegations during the last presidential election, including academic fraud, plagiarism, and stock manipulation related to Deutsche Motors, is now becoming a burden to the Yoon administration as she faces new controversies such as luxury handbag acceptance and allegations of interference in the general election candidate selection process.
In fact, public opinion polls show that President Yoon's approval rating has hit a record low. A survey commissioned by Dailyan to the polling agency Polling Fair Co., Ltd. was conducted on July 7-8, targeting 1,000 male and female voters nationwide (100% wireless ARS method, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and a response rate of 2.1%). The results released that day showed President Yoon's positive evaluation of his state affairs performance at 25.7% (12.2% very well, 13.5% fairly well), and negative evaluation at 71.6% (61.5% very poorly, 10.1% fairly poorly), marking the lowest approval rating in history.
The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, are labeling Kim as the "Choi Soon-sil of the former president," attempting to revive the "impeachment memories." The People Power Party has publicly demanded Kim's apology and restraint from official activities, initiating the establishment of a "firebreak" to prevent the spread of negative issues engulfing them.
'Allegation of Kim's Interference in Candidate Selection' - Myung Tae-gyun Emerges... Political Turmoil Intensifies
The allegation that Kim interfered in candidate selection during the April 10 general election and the emergence of Myung Tae-gyun, who allegedly acted as a broker, have brought the "Kim Geon-hee controversy" into a new phase.
It was alleged in early last month that Kim discussed the candidacy of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun for the Gimhae Gap district in Gyeongnam during the last general election through Myung, who conducted opinion polls and political consulting in the Gyeongnam region. Although former lawmaker Kim and others denied the allegations and only hearsay circulated, leading to expectations that the issue would soon subside, the situation took a sharp turn as concrete circumstances emerged. Allegations arose that after Kim Young-sun won the 2022 by-election, he continuously sent half of his parliamentary salary to Myung, prompting prosecutors to launch an investigation. Additionally, it was reported that Kim Young-sun mentioned Kim Geon-hee during the candidate selection committee interview for the last general election.
Notably, Myung claimed through media and social networking services (SNS) that he played significant roles at critical moments such as the so-called "chimaek meetings" between President Yoon and Lee Jun-seok, reformist party lawmaker (then People Power Party leader), and the candidate unification process between President Yoon and Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party lawmaker. Furthermore, he asserted that he frequently visited President Yoon's residence, escalating the issue to a matter of government-level concern. The National Assembly's Administrative and Security Committee selected Myung and former lawmaker Kim as witnesses for the state audit and issued summons orders, but they were not delivered due to absence.
During the July 23 party convention phase, the issue involving former Presidential Office Senior Administrative Officer for Citizen Communication Kim Dae-nam (former standing auditor of Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corporation), who spoke with a left-wing YouTuber and mentioned "We need to take down Han Dong-hoon, the People Power Party leader," also spilled over onto Kim Geon-hee. Kim, who served as acting citizen communication secretary, discussed with the YouTuber about Lee Won-mo, the Presidential Office Public Service Discipline Secretary, who was strategically nominated for the Yongin Gap district in Gyeonggi Province, saying, "Kim Geon-hee is heavily involved in candidate selection," to which Kim responded, "Yes, that route is Lee Cheol-gyu. One example is Yongin Gap." Although Kim claimed the conversation was manipulated, he resigned from the People Power Party and stepped down from his position as standing auditor at Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corporation after the party announced an investigation.
Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law Becomes Opposition's Constant... Candidate Selection Interference Likely to Be Included
The broad opposition, including the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Innovation Party, which each introduced a special prosecutor law for Kim Geon-hee once in the 21st and 22nd National Assemblies respectively, plans to reintroduce the special prosecutor law after the state audit concludes. The political conflict cycle of opposition-led passage → President Yoon's veto → re-vote and rejection repeats. The Democratic Party is determined to pass the special prosecutor law on Kim Geon-hee using a permanent special prosecutor system that President Yoon cannot veto.
The first special prosecutor law, submitted to the National Assembly in March last year and finally discarded in January this year, only included allegations related to Kim's involvement in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. Kim is suspected of conspiring with related parties to manipulate stock prices after purchasing approximately 510,000 convertible bonds from former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo off-market and reselling them to a Deutsche Motors-related private equity fund within about eight months, achieving a return rate exceeding 82%. Prosecutors filed charges against Kwon and others after receiving a complaint in April 2020 but have yet to take action against Kim.
The second special prosecutor law included not only the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations but also controversies over luxury handbag acceptance and interference in the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway route change. It was reported by a left-wing YouTuber that Kim received a Dior handbag as a gift from Korean-American pastor Choi Jae-hyung in September 2022. Prosecutors, after receiving a complaint, dismissed the case on August 2, citing no evidence of quid pro quo. The Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway, originally planned in 2017, had its terminus changed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in May 2023 from Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun to Gangseong-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, where Kim's family owns land, sparking allegations of preferential treatment. Then-Minister Won Hee-ryong stated that the route change was unrelated to Kim, but the issue remains contentious as related individuals were summoned as witnesses during this year's state audit.
Democratic Party Aiming for Impeachment Crisis... Painting Kim as the New Choi Soon-sil
The Democratic Party is making full use of the lessons learned from the 2017 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. Park was impeached for allowing civilian interference in state affairs, notably by Choi Soon-sil, and for accepting bribes from large corporations.
The Democratic Party's easy acquisition of power after the impeachment is also part of their strategy. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung intends to run the upcoming presidential election in a similar framework to the 19th presidential election, which former President Moon Jae-in contested. At that time, the People’s Party, based in the Honam region, nominated Ahn Cheol-soo as their presidential candidate, but Moon prepared for the election without major disruptions and won by an 18.1 percentage point margin over the runner-up, People Power Party candidate Hong Jun-pyo.
The Democratic Party began linking former President Park and Kim Geon-hee as soon as the state audit started. On July 7, Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said at the first state audit strategy meeting, "If you follow the strange allegations of the Yoon administration, Kim Geon-hee appears," adding, "We will intensively question Kim Geon-hee's alleged state affairs manipulation during the audit." On July 10, Park explicitly connected former President Park and Kim, stating, "If the allegations surrounding Myung are true, it would be a second state affairs manipulation scandal comparable to the Choi Soon-sil scandal that brought down the Park Geun-hye administration."
Public Opinion Nearing Explosion... Criticism of Kim Geon-hee Growing Within the Ruling Party
Voices criticizing Kim Geon-hee are growing even within the People Power Party. There is concern that any remarks defending Kim could fuel public anger and spread negative effects across the entire ruling party. Especially, lawmakers close to party leader Han Dong-hoon (the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction) are demanding Kim's restraint from public activities daily, even at the risk of friction with the Yongsan Presidential Office. After a field supreme council meeting held in Ganghwa, Incheon, on July 10 to support the October 16 by-elections, Han reaffirmed his stance on "Kim Geon-hee's restraint from activities," saying, "Isn't that part of the promise made to the people during the presidential election? Just keep that promise." Kim had pledged in late December 2021, about two months before the presidential election, to "focus solely on the role of a wife" while apologizing to the public for her false resume controversy.
Han also drew a clear line regarding Myung and former senior administrative officer Kim Dae-nam. He said, "Myung Tae-gyun is currently disturbing the people's minds. I urge a swift and strict investigation," adding, "The public probably did not know that swindlers and political brokers like Myung Tae-gyun and Kim Dae-nam were lurking behind the scenes in politics. I didn't know either. This is archaic, old-fashioned politics." He continued, "I will change this old-fashioned politics," and "In the People Power Party I lead, such swindlers or political brokers will not be able to gain a foothold." Furthermore, Han pressured prosecutors regarding the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations, responding to suggestions that Kim might be cleared by saying, "I will say that prosecutors must make a decision that the public can accept."
On the other hand, pro-Yoon factions and some ruling party members are turning their criticism toward Han. Lawmaker Kwon said in an interview with SBS Radio the previous day, "It is true that there is public opinion for Kim Geon-hee's restraint from public activities," but questioned, "Is it necessary to discuss such matters publicly?" He argued that since the ruling party risks division, such suggestions should have been made privately during a scheduled private meeting with President Yoon. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min criticized Han on social media the previous day, saying, "Han, who was once Minister of Justice, did not prosecute Kim Geon-hee's stock manipulation case and delayed it, but now tells prosecutors to produce results that the public can accept. This is a complete detachment from reality. It is a lack of conscience." Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo also launched an offensive, saying, "A leader who dances to public opinion is not a leader," adding, "That is neither at the people's level nor anything but a Chinese opera mask change."
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