Yoon's office denies first couple's involvement in smear plot against PPP chief

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Yoon's office denies first couple's involvement in smear plot against PPP chief

Published: 03 Oct. 2024, 19:20 Updated: 03 Oct. 2024, 19:41

MICHAEL LEE
lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr

President Yoon Suk Yeol, far left, greets high-ranking People Power Party lawmakers at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

The presidential office on Thursday denied that President Yoon Suk Yeol or first lady Kim Keon Hee had been involved in a former administration official's efforts to smear People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon before he ran for the party chairmanship.

In a press release, the presidential office said the first couple “have absolutely no personal relationship” with Kim Dae-nam, who served as a senior assistant secretary in the administration until August, when he became an auditor at the Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company.

In a recording released recently by left-leaning YouTube channel Voice of Seoul, Kim asked one of the outlet’s reporters if he would be interested in helping ruin Han’s reputation before the PPP’s national convention in July.

Kim was also recorded as saying that Han had caused the first lady a great deal of stress and that she would be happy “if we plan this well and take him down.”

Despite speculation that Kim acted with the first couple’s knowledge, the presidential office argued that the president met with Kim only on rare occasions, such as farewell parties for departing officials.

“We would like to make it clear that it is inappropriate to use this recording as evidence of a rift between the presidential office and the PPP,” the office said, adding that it “regrets reckless reporting on various rumors and unfounded assertions.”

However, Han wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that the recording had left him feeling “ashamed and disappointed about how the public and party members will react.”

The next day, PPP spokesperson Han Zeea said the party “will uncover the truth by taking necessary steps and hold the responsible individuals accountable.”

The PPP spokesperson said any party member who worked with a left-leaning YouTube channel to mount character attacks against a senior party official would be seen as having caused harm to the PPP.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, is greeted by People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, left, as he arrives at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 22, ending a four-day official visit to the Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Although Han Dong-hoon served as Yoon’s first justice minister from May 2022 to the end of last year, the two men appear to have drifted apart due to wide-ranging differences over how to handle several political issues.

On Wednesday, Yoon hosted a group dinner to discuss the upcoming parliamentary audit with PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho and other senior party lawmakers, but did not invite Han.

The two men also did not meet separately during a group dinner between high-ranking government and PPP officials last week despite Han’s request for one-on-one talks with Yoon.

According to observers, one of the issues that drove a wedge between Yoon and Han was their disagreement regarding how to address various allegations of wrongdoing by the first lady.

In addition to accepting a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor in 2022, Kim has also been accused of interfering in the PPP’s candidate nomination process ahead of the April general election and being involved in a stock price manipulation scheme.

Although the state prosecution service announced Wednesday it would not seek an indictment against the first lady for accepting the handbag, the liberal Democratic Party is expected to still try and override the president’s latest veto against a special counsel probe into the allegations against Kim.

However, the presidential office characterized the prosecution’s announcement on Thursday as a vindication of the first lady’s innocence and called it a “clear case of all charges being dropped.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]