First lady Kim Hye-kyung: President Lee's steely 'political partner' seeks to avoid limelight

Kim Hye-kyung, 58, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, often said to officials from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) that she wanted to "stay out of the spotlight as much as possible."

Kim Hye-kyung, wife of liberal Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, looks around inside a Catholic church on Sorok Island in Goheung, South Jeolla, on the morning of May 27. [YONHAP]

Kim Hye-kyung, 58, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, often said to officials from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) that she wanted to "stay out of the spotlight as much as possible."

Since the party’s primary began in April, Kim quietly sought out prominent figures in the religious community for private meetings and advice.

“One of our guiding principles was to keep her schedule entirely separate from candidate Lee’s,” said a campaign official. “Instead, she carefully made phone calls here and there asking people to support her husband. Her passion rivaled that of the president-elect.”

Lee even remarked on Tuesday, “My wife spent so much time out in the provinces that I hardly saw her for over a month.”

In fact, Kim initially opposed Lee's entry into politics. Back in 2006, when Lee considered running for mayor of Seongnam, she reportedly told him, “Sign the divorce papers before you go.”

But over time, she became a “political partner” who helped convey the voices of women, people with disabilities and religious communities to her husband.

Born in Seoul in October 1966, Kim is the eldest of three children in a middle-class family. She studied piano at Sookmyung Women’s University and worked as a piano instructor after graduation.

She met Lee, then a second-year lawyer, through a family introduction in 1990. In a 2017 interview, Kim recalled her first impression of Lee: “He wasn’t particularly handsome, and he looked older than his age.” He proposed on their fourth meeting, but she initially declined.

A wedding photo of Lee Jae-myung, right, and Kim Hye-kyung [LEE JAE-MYUNG]

What changed her mind were six volumes of Lee’s diaries spanning 10 years. Moved by the warmth she found in his writing, she agreed to marry him. The couple set up their newlywed home in an apartment in Seongnam seven months later.

Because Lee pursued a career as a human rights lawyer, their early years were financially modest. Kim’s mother-in-law gave her a single soup ladle, saying, “This is all I can afford to give you.” Kim still cherishes it to this day. The couple has two sons: Dong-ho, 33, and Yoon-ho, 32.

After 34 years together, Kim says Lee’s greatest strength is his composure in a crisis. In a 2022 interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, she said, “When life gets turbulent — whether it’s family matters or political turmoil — he becomes even calmer. He knows how to prioritize what needs to be done now versus later.”

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, right, and his wife Kim Hye-kyung pose for a commemorative photo holding their son early in their marriage. [LEE JAE-MYUNG]

But Kim hasn’t been immune to the controversies that have surrounded her husband. After Lee, then Gyeonggi governor, declared his presidential bid in August 2021, she was investigated for attending a meal with spouses of former and current lawmakers at a restaurant in Seoul. The bill was paid with a Gyeonggi government corporate credit card. On May 12, she was fined 1.5 million won ($1,090) in an appellate court ruling.

Now that she is poised to become first lady, questions swirl around what role she will play. Lee has pledged to appoint a special inspector upon taking office to oversee the conduct of presidential relatives and close aides. “In light of the last administration, she’s expected to keep a low profile,” said a DP official.

Still, one longtime aide who has worked with Kim remarked, “Sometimes she’s even more resolute and firm than her husband. She will inevitably become active in public life.”

In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo just before the election, Kim said, “I want to be a warmhearted first lady — someone the marginalized can approach freely and confide in.”

Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, leaves Suwon High Court in Yeongtong District, Suwon, Gyeonggi, on May 12. [YONHAP]

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]