PPP chief urges first lady to avoid public activities as party faces close by-election race

Home > National > Politics

PPP chief urges first lady to avoid public activities as party faces close by-election race

Published: 10 Oct. 2024, 17:59

MICHAEL LEE
lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr

People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon speaks at a press conference in Geumjeong District, Busan, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon said for the first time Wednesday that first lady Kim Keon Hee should refrain from carrying out public activities, echoing similar calls from PPP members in recent days.

Han made the remarks during a press conference in Busan’s Geumjeong District, one of five localities where by-elections are scheduled to take place on Oct. 16.

“I don’t know what our lawmakers have been saying [about Kim], but I agree with that there is a need [for her to step back],” Han said in response to a reporter’s question about PPP members’ calls for the first lady to avoid public attention.

Until Wednesday’s press conference, the PPP leader had remained relatively tight-lipped on his own views of the first lady’s public activities despite rumors of a rift between himself and President Yoon Suk Yeol over how to address various allegations of impropriety against Kim.

However, his latest comments came after two PPP lawmakers urged Kim to avoid the public limelight in their media remarks.

Kim Geun-sik, who chairs the party’s regional coordination committee, said during a CBS Radio interview on Monday that the first lady should “stay quiet and try not to communicate so much,” while PPP spokesman Park Sang-soo said the same day on SBS Radio that Kim is “causing problems for the party by staying in the public eye” and called on her to “refrain from undertaking public activities.”

Although the state prosecution service announced last week that it would not seek an indictment against the first lady for her acceptance of a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) has repeatedly called for a special counsel probe to investigate other allegations that she interfered in PPP candidate nominations before the April general election and participated in a stock price manipulation scheme.

PPP members and political observers have attributed the party’s weakness in public opinion surveys and its defeat in the April general election to chronically low public approval of the president, which they believe have been further dragged down by suspicions regarding his wife.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, right, campaigns alongside Park Yong-chul, his party's candidate in the Ganghwa County by-election, on Thursday in Incheon. [YONHAP]

The PPP leader’s public comments about Kim came after a recently published poll showed the party finds itself in an unexpectedly tight race in Geumjeong District, which has traditionally been dominated by conservatives.

A survey conducted last week by the Korea Society Opinion Institute showed that the PPP’s candidate for district chief, Yoon Il-hyun, is polling 43.5-percent support against DP candidate Kim Kyung-ja, who recorded 40 percent.

According to a public opinion survey published by pollster Realmeter on Monday, a total of 27.9 percent of 1,504 respondents said they approved of the president’s performance against 68.1 percent who said they disapproved.

The PPP had a slightly higher approval rating of 32.7 percent in a separate survey, while the DP recorded 42.4 percent support.

According to the presidential office, Yoon and Han agreed to meet for a one-on-one dinner late last month, where they are expected to address the challenges faced by the PPP due to its close association with the president.

Observers believe the dinner will likely take place after the Oct. 16 by-elections, though it remains to be seen whether the president will follow through on the agreement after Han’s comments.

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