On the 22nd, the Presidential Office strongly criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for issuing a summons to accompany regarding Kim Keon-hee, the wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, calling it a revelation of “one-party dictatorship of the legislature” and labeling it as “base political behavior.”
Jeong Hye-ju, the spokesperson for the Presidential Office, stated during a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office that “the Democratic Party’s unilateral handling of a summons for the first lady is yet another display of legislative one-party dictatorship.”
Spokesperson Jeong went on to criticize, “They have selectively chosen over 100 witnesses related to Mrs. Kim for this parliamentary audit, and even went further by issuing a summons. This is a classic political show designed to embarrass the first lady and drag the audit into the mud.”
She further expressed strong regret towards what she described as the Democratic Party’s “base and violent political behavior,” including impeaching prosecutors, intimidating the judiciary, and indiscriminately issuing a special investigation and summons, all to shield their party leader who is facing sentencing for serious criminal charges.
Previously, on the 21st, opposition lawmakers at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee issued a summons for both Mrs. Kim and her mother, Choi Eun-soon. This marks the first time in South Korean constitutional history that such a summons has been issued for a sitting president’s spouse. Members of the Democratic Party on the committee attempted to deliver the summons directly to the presidential residence in Hannam-dong but were blocked by police.