PPP chief Han urges presidential office reshuffle over first lady's alleged clique

The leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) called for a reshuffle at the presidential office as he aired suspicions that first lady Kim Keon Hee could be exercising influence over state affairs through Yoon administration officials.

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

The leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) called for a reshuffle at the presidential office as he aired suspicions that first lady Kim Keon Hee could be exercising influence over state affairs through a clique of officials in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

In his comments to reporters after the PPP’s supreme council meeting on Monday, Han said Kim “is not a person who holds any official position” and argued that “such political connections should not exist.”

The PPP leader and other party officials suspect that the first lady maintains contact with ten current and former Yoon administration officials, some of whom she has allegedly known since before her husband’s election, allowing her to indirectly affect personnel appointments and administration policies.

Han said his request for “change and transformation” at the presidential office could present an “opportunity” for the president to “restore public trust” in his administration.

Yoon has suffered from chronically low public approval ratings since taking office in May 2022, and many observers believe his unpopularity contributed to the wipeout of the government-aligned PPP in the April general election.

The PPP leaders’ remarks came two days before an unexpectedly tight by-election to select the next chief of Busan’s Geumjeong District, which has traditionally been a safe seat for conservative candidates.

Four other by-elections are also scheduled for Wednesday to choose the heads of Ganghwa County in Incheon, Yeonggwang and Gokseong counties in South Jeolla and the superintendent of education in Seoul.

PPP members who support Han have also demanded that the presidential office dismiss officials considered close to the first lady.

In an interview with MBC Radio on Monday, Shin Ji-ho, the PPP’s director of strategic planning, said there is a “possibility” that “some presidential secretaries and officials have carried out inappropriate political activities beyond the scope of their official duties” in tandem with the first lady’s demands.

However, PPP members and administration officials aligned with Yoon have criticized fellow conservatives for drawing attention to the issue.

In response to Han’s comments, a senior presidential official told reporters on condition of anonymity that there is no “line,” or unofficial clique, of officials led by the first lady.

“What wrong has been committed that there needs to be a personnel reshuffle?” the official asked, adding that the only “line” inside the presidential office answers to the president alone.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and first lady Kim Keon Hee disembark from the presidential plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, after completing an official trip to Southeast Asia on Friday. [YONHAP]

Another official, who has been accused of being part of the first lady’s clique, denied any wrongdoing in his comments to the JoongAng Ilbo and said that it was “regrettable” that some PPP members are “coordinating their offensive against the first lady with the Democratic Party (DP),” which has repeatedly called for a special counsel probe into Kim.

A freshman lawmaker who also spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity said that “all this talk of ‘unofficial’ groups does nothing to help the party or the administration before the by-elections” and complained the controversy is “drowning out coverage of DP leader Lee Jae-myung’s legal troubles.”

The rumors surrounding Kim’s influence inside the Yoon administration are likely to overshadow Yoon and Han’s meeting next week, where the pair are expected to discuss how to address the first lady’s alleged role in a stock price manipulation scheme and the PPP’s candidate nominations before the April general election, as well as her acceptance of a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor.

BY LEE CHANG-HOON, MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]