Time is running out to fix first lady risk

It’s up to Kim to untangle and clean up the mess she had caused and save her husband and the governing power. She would know the answer. But time is ticking, and people are already running out of patience.

Choi Min-woo The author is the head of the political news department of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Why does President Yoon Suk Yeol hesitate so much when it comes to issues involving his wife? While it is understandable that he might feel protective out of familial loyalty or sympathy, he should not let his emotions take control when the ruling power is being jeopardized by risks related to her.

During his early days in presidency, many believed the president’s sense of indebtedness to his wife was why he did not interfere with her issues. The two married in 2012. Yoon is said to have avidly courted Kim Keon Hee, who is 12 years younger than him. He was an up-and-coming prosecutor of the special investigation bureau of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office at the time, but also in his 50s without much wealth. After the two married, Yoon’s career really picked up. He made a stunning comeback from a demotion during the Park Geun-hye administration by commanding the investigation on Park’s power abuse scandal and subsequently heading the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and then the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to end up at the presidential office.

Kim’s ascension to the first lady role was hardly smooth. She had to endure rumors of coming from a humiliating background as a hotel nightclub hostess working under the alias Julie and witch-hunting. The toll on her mother was equally heavy and eventually resulted in prison time. Kim’s ordeal could have not happened if Yoon had not entered politics.

It is understandable that Yoon could feel apologetic and guilty toward his wife. But that may not entirely explain his behavior. According to a well-informed member of the ruling power, Yoon confided to his inner circle that his wife was the secret key to his presidential victory.

Kim too did not hide that she felt she should share the power behind the throne during the campaign. In a recent interview, Kim Chong-in, the former interim head of the People Power Party (PPP), said the first lady truly believed she contributed greatly to her husband’s rise and therefore was licensed to a share of his power.

Kim is free to feel that way. But it is a different matter if the president shares the feeling, even if politics can sometimes be mistaken for a family business. It could be a serious problem if the president regarded his wife more as a companion and adviser and wanted others to appreciate her role behind his presidency.

Why does Yoon think so highly of his wife? Some credit her for her political judgment. Because Yoon’s career entirely evolved around the prosecution, he tends to think in black and white. Kim, who ran an exhibition planning agency, helps broaden his perspective. Protocol officials at the foreign ministry say they feel more at ease when the first lady accompanies Yoon’s overseas trips because decisions are made faster with her company.

Some also say Kim really acted as the hidden hand during the campaign. An election costs money and requires shady deals, which Kim willingly took up. The text messages she exchanged with the so-called power broker Myung Tae-kyun imply the duties she assumed during the campaigning period. She could have walked the fine line between what is legal and illegal, navigating the murky waters of pleas, favors or pressure.

The rivalling Democratic Party (DP) has been directly aiming at Kim by identifying her as the Achilles heel of Yoon since he rose to political stardom. It went after her inflation of academic and career credentials during campaigning and targeted her involvement in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation scandal after Yoon won presidency. Kim was never popular with the public, but the negative campaign by the opposition is partly to be blamed for this. However, she entirely lost favor with the public after the release of a video of her accepting a luxury bag from a mysterious pastor in November last year.

Although she partly fell prey to a scheming progressive figure, the presidential couple and governing power failed to come clear on the affair for nearly a year. Then came additional scandals stemming from Myung and Kim Dae-nam, a former presidential aide whose taped conversation with a reporter of a left-leaning YouTube outlet implied Kim wanted to smear Han Dong-hoon to prevent him from winning PPP leadership. Given Kim’s indiscretion, we won’t be surprised by the discovery of more skeletons in the closet. It’s up to Kim to untangle and clean up the mess she had caused and save her husband and the governing power. She would know the answer. But time is ticking, and people are already running out of patience.