Heo Eun-ah "Phone call with Mrs. Kim in July... Felt dissatisfaction and hurt towards Han Dong-hoon"

Kim's Wife Called to Console at the Time of Funeral
"Refused Request to 'Meet in Person'"

Heo Eun-ah, leader of the Reform New Party, revealed on the 30th that First Lady Kim Keon-hee expressed disappointment about Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, during a phone call in July.

On the same day, Heo said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "I did receive a call (from First Lady Kim). It was not recently, but on July 12th, when I had a bereavement in my in-laws' family, she called to offer condolences." Heo added, "That day was actually my wedding anniversary, so I clearly remember the date. She told me, 'I'm sorry I couldn't pay my respects in person.'"

During the conversation with the First Lady, Heo said, "I felt that she had some dissatisfaction with Leader Han. There was a bit of displeasure." She explained, "There was a controversy about reading and ignoring messages, so I guess she felt hurt. I sensed some resentment."

The timing of their call was about ten days before the People Power Party's July 23rd party convention, when First Lady Kim texted Leader Han to inquire whether he would make a public apology regarding allegations of receiving luxury brand bags as assets. At that time, Leader Han reportedly did not respond to Kim's message.

According to Heo, First Lady Kim also requested a direct meeting. Heo said, "She said, 'Let's meet and talk about this and that.' I apologized but declined, saying it would be difficult." She added, "If you meet someone, it could send another message and cause public misunderstanding, so I judged it would be better not to take such action."

Heo Eun-ah, Representative of the Reform New Party

She then drew a clear line, saying, "I have not spoken with her since the condolence call." Heo stated, "If she calls again, I want to tell her, 'Please don't hide.' The only way to resolve public suspicion now is to explain directly by herself or undergo investigation."

Heo also reiterated the need to enact the 'Presidential Spouse Act,' which legally defines the status of the president's spouse. She said, "Is it over if only Kim Keon-hee is subject to a special investigation? There could be a second or third Kim Keon-hee. To prevent that, the Presidential Spouse Act is absolutely necessary."

Earlier, the fact of the phone call between First Lady Kim and the opposition party leader was publicized by Jang Sung-chul, director of the Public Opinion Center and a conservative political commentator, who appeared on the same radio program the previous day. Jang claimed, "Last week, First Lady Kim called an opposition leader from the People Power Party and emotionally expressed for an hour, saying things like, 'I'm wronged, what did I do wrong, isn't this too much?'"

Currently, opposition party leaders who have entered the National Assembly include Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Cho Guk of the Cho Guk Reform Party, Heo Eun-ah of the Reform New Party, Kim Jae-yeon of the Progressive Party, Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party, and Han Chang-min of the Social Democratic Party. Since it is realistically unlikely that Lee or Cho spoke with First Lady Kim, Heo was identified as the person involved.

Meanwhile, criticism has also emerged regarding this incident. There are calls to establish a second secretariat to officially assist First Lady Kim's activities and to comprehensively manage her mobile phone and other matters.