Why does first lady Kim Keon Hee not visit detained South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol?
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Ms Kim Keon Hee “will be inevitably grilled by political circles, media and civic groups” if she makes such a visit, Mr Yoon's close friend said.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL - It has been a week since detained President Yoon Suk Yeol was permitted to receive visitors other than his lawyers. Groups of senior aides and political heavyweights from the ruling bloc have made their way to visit him – but not his wife, first lady Kim Keon Hee.
On Feb 3, Mr Seok Dong-hyeon, Mr Yoon’s close friend who recently joined his team of legal representatives, said in a radio interview with YTN that Ms Kim “does not plan” to visit Mr Yoon while he is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Centre
Ms Kim “will be inevitably grilled by political circles, media and civic groups” if she makes such a visit, Mr Seok told YTN, adding that previous visits by Mr Yoon’s aides and ruling party lawmakers have already led to controversy.
Ms Kim has now been out of the public eye for over three months. She was last seen in public when the presidential couple received Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Oct 24, 2024, on his state visit to South Korea.
Ms Kim’s seclusion largely stems from backlash towards her, as she has faced threats of a special counsel probe into allegations of corruption. Mr Yoon said in his last news conference in November 2024 – before the martial law fiasco
“If people love to see (Kim’s public appearances), she will do them; if people hate to see (her), she will refrain,” Mr Yoon said at the time.
The President added that Ms Kim had already stopped making public appearances except for important diplomatic events. The news conference was followed by Ms Kim skipping Mr Yoon’s trip to South America to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and Group of 20 summit later in November 2024.
Mr Yoon’s office in November 2024 also announced the relaunch of the first lady’s office, which he shut down upon his inauguration in May 2022.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which controls a strong majority of seats in the National Assembly, has called for a probe into Ms Kim’s corruption allegations, including election meddling, involvement in illegal election predictions and leakage of confidential information to unauthorised people for their alleged financial benefit.
The opposition also suspected that she was involved in stock manipulation that is speculated to have led to her financial gains in early 2010s – a decade before she became the first lady.
Since Mr Yoon’s inauguration, the main opposition has introduced four special counsel Bills targeting Ms Kim, all of which failed to override presidential vetoes. Now, the opposition is considering a fifth attempt to push for a probe into Ms Kim, according to Representative Kang Yu-jung, the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson, on Feb 4.
The first lady, a former entrepreneur, has been keeping her distance from the public as her scandals have continued to circulate, including a Dior bag scandal.
In May 2024, Ms Kim made her first official public appearance after five months of seclusion at a ceremony to celebrate the return of 14th-century Buddhist relics to South Korea.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that her health was deteriorating while she has stayed in the presidential residence in Yongsan, central Seoul.
According to Mr Seok on Jan 28, Mr Yoon told his lawyers during their visit that he was concerned about Ms Kim’s health.
“Since I left the presidential residence on Jan 15, I have not seen her face and I could not do so, so I was worried about her health,” Mr Yoon was quoted as saying by Mr Seok. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
