With less than two weeks remaining before South Korea's presidential election, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has publicly apologized for multiple scandals involving former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, as it seeks to distance itself from impeached former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Kim Yong-tae, head of the PPP's emergency response committee, stated at a recent press conference that the party had "failed to fully understand public concerns" over Kim Keon-hee's past actions and issued a formal apology, vowing to "reflect deeply and correct course."
The PPP outlined three key pledges: conducting a transparent review of Kim Keon-hee's private affairs; pushing for legislation to formalize the first lady's public role and legal accountability; and implementing systemic reforms to ensure transparent oversight of presidential relatives.
During Yoon's tenure, Kim Keon-hee faced allegations of accepting a luxury designer handbag, stock manipulation, political meddling, and academic fraud. The National Assembly four times approved special prosecutor investigations into these claims, but all were blocked by Yoon's presidential veto. In the stock manipulation case, prosecutors reopened their probe into Kim last month after other defendants were convicted.
The apology and reform pledges come as the PPP aims to regain public trust ahead of the high-stakes election, with Yoon's legacy and the party's credibility under intense scrutiny.
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