First lady won't accompany Yoon on overseas trip this month, presidential office says

First lady Kim Keon Hee will not accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on an official overseas trip later this month, the presidential office said Friday, a day after Yoon pledged that his wife would halt all public engagements for the time being.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and first lady Kim Keon Hee, center, smile as they are met with flowers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Oct. 6. [YONHAP]

First lady Kim Keon Hee will not accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on an official overseas trip later this month, the presidential office said Friday, a day after the president pledged that his wife would halt all public engagements for the time being.

Speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking presidential official said Kim’s absence on the upcoming trip is “a follow-up measure” to the president’s public address and press conference on Thursday, where he apologized for “causing public concern” over various allegations of wrongdoing by himself and the first lady.

Yoon, whose chronically low approval ratings hit 17 percent this week, said at the press conference that Kim’s participation in official events “has been essentially suspended and will continue to be suspended unless [her presence] is deemed necessary.”

According to the official, Kim is likely to appear only at diplomatic functions where protocol calls for spouses to attend.

The official also said Jang Soon-chil, a former senior presidential secretary for civil and social affairs, will take charge of an office to manage the first lady’s activities.

The office will comprise less than 10 people, according to the official.

Conservative People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's supreme council at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Friday’s announcement came the same day that conservative People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon called on Yoon to “move his words into action” after he offered a public apology for recent scandals that have engulfed his administration.

In a message uploaded to his Facebook account, the PPP leader noted that the president “has promised to overhaul personnel [in his administration], suspend the first lady’s public activities and appoint a special investigator without conditions.”

However, Han also argued that Yoon should proceed to fulfill his promises “according to the standard desired by the people” and with “speed” and “detail.”

For his part, the PPP leader vowed his party would “follow the popular will by communicating even more closely with the presidential office” in order to convince Yoon to take action quickly.

According to Han, the PPP’s “immediate” priority is the appointment of a special investigator, echoing his previous calls for the post to be filled in light of multiple allegations of wrongdoing by the first lady.

Kim has been accused of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme, accepting a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor and interfering in the PPP’s candidate nomination process ahead of multiple elections.

While Yoon acknowledged that his wife “should have conducted herself with greater caution” at Thursday’s press conference, he also struck a defensive tone when referring to the liberal Democratic Party’s (DP) demands for a special counsel probe into the first lady’s affairs, which he characterized as an act of “political agitation.”

The office of the special inspector was established in 2014 under then-President Park Geun-hye to probe allegations of wrongdoing committed by the president’s spouse, close relatives and senior presidential officials.

However, the post has been vacant since 2016.

Yoon declined to fill the position when he took office, which a presidential official at the time attributed to his preference to have all investigations handled by the state prosecution and police.

Han added that he knows “nothing can be achieved if [the PPP] does not move according to the will of the people” and promised his party would act with “more modesty and humility.”

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