A first lady still stealing the show

The first lady’s acceptance of a luxury handbag from a
suspicious pastor has become an Achilles’ heel for Yoon’s presidency.

Lee Ha-kyungThe author is a senior columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo. The Roman Empire was damned with the Crisis of the Third Century, also known as Military Anarchy, during which 26 soldier emperors died either at the hands of others or by their own hand over the span of 49 years. In Korea today, presidential impeachment is the buzzword in political circles. Another episode of a Crisis of the 21st Century is in the making for Korean politics just like the scenes of Latin America where elected presidents have been habitually ousted through impeachments.

None of the five grounds the opposition laid out to impeach the sitting president is convincing. To force an elected president out of office before his term expires — because he is unpopular — constitutes violence. The Democratic Party (DP) and splinter parties, occupying 191 seats in the 300-member legislature, are holding the first-ever hearing on presidential impeachment this week on the back of 1.4 million civilian petitions. The DP plans to summon first lady Kim Keon-hee and her mother to the hearing. Its leader Lee Jae-myung — who greatly benefited from the governing People Power Party (PPP)’s repeated fumbles — wants to follow in the footsteps of former President Moon Jae-in, who became president in a snap election held after ousting conservative President Park Geun-hye through the first-ever presidential impeachment in Korea. The demoralized PPP hardly had the will or ability to fight back. Moon’s eligibility and ability as president could not be checked properly during the brief campaign and hastened election.

Lee currently on four trials for 11 criminal counts has only one objective: removing President Yoon Suk Yeol from office before Lee is ruled guilty in any of the four trials, which will strip him of his right to run for public office. Another presidential impeachment will neutralize the government and the PPP, but most Koreans do not wish to see this dismal drama. Polls show 51 percent of people opposing Lee’s rebid for the DP chairmanship while only 35 percent approves it. Lee removed all his critics within the party by eliminating them from the candidacy roster for the April 10 parliamentary elections to realign the party entirely with his loyalists. Lee victimized democracy to protect himself against his own judicial risks. If he wins the presidency, he could break the country just like former President Moon who used his single five-year term for a vengeful quest.

But President Yoon appears to ignore the coming storm. The PPP’s national convention to elect its new leadership to reinvent the lethargic party after its crushing defeat in the last election is being entirely wasted on wrangling over the mysterious texts of the first lady. The four candidates running for the leadership are swamped in the mud fight. The infighting over the first lady towers over the DP’s reckless legislation and motions to impeach prosecutors. But the four PPP candidates are pointing guns at one another, even as the supermajority opposition is closing in on them with its presidential impeachment campaign in full force.

The controversy over the first lady dominates all other issues — medical, pension and tax reforms. There were days when the first lady was a motherly figure. Yuk Young-soo, the wife of strongman Park Chung Hee, opposed the president’s idea of recruiting a tutor for their teenage son, as it violated the government ban on private tutoring. Their son was taught at home by Yuk instead. She did lose her temper against her husband over his drinking and womanizing, but she nevertheless did not shy away from straight-talking to her husband over corruption and power abuse issues.

Kim’s acceptance of a luxury handbag from a suspicious pastor has become an Achilles’ heel for Yoon’s presidency. Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok vowed that there cannot be any exceptions, favors or exemptions before the law. But the prosecution’s investigation of the case has failed to pick up due to the presidential office’s defiance. Lee Jae-myung’s wife on the other hand was publicly summoned and questioned over her aid’s alleged use of her husband’s corporate credit card when he was Gyeonggi governor.

The first lady must reflect on what she did if her husband is to appease public anger. She must admit her mistake, apologize to the public — not to former PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon — for the fiasco and comply with the prosecution’s investigation. The first lady must stop political calculations if she truly wants to atone for her past mistakes. The president also must prove that everyone, including his wife, is equal before the law. That’s the only way to stop the impeachment locomotive from approaching them.