In a recent radio interview, Lee Jun-seok of the Reformation New Party discussed claims regarding Kim Keon-hee, the First Lady of South Korea. Lee mentioned witnessing Kim referring to President Yoon Suk-yeol as “oppa,” a Korean term for an older brother often used affectionately by women for their older male friends or partners. Several others, including Jin Joong-kwon, a professor at Kwangwoon University, also reportedly confirmed this observation.
This statement comes as part of the controversy surrounding Kim’s alleged involvement in political nominations, which first came to light when Myung Tae-kyun shared KakaoTalk messages with Kim. In these messages, Kim referred to “our oppa,” which the presidential office later explained was in reference to her biological brother—not President Yoon.
Lee expressed skepticism about the presidential office’s explanation, suggesting that the clarification was insufficient. Regarding Kim’s brother, Kim Jin-woo, Lee remarked that he had never met or communicated with him, implying speculation surrounding him might be exaggerated or unrelated to public matters.
Furthermore, Lee confirmed witnessing the KakaoTalk exchanges between Myung and Kim in 2022, but clarified that their conversations seemed to be personal rather than related to public nominations. Despite advice to keep a distance from Myung, President Yoon and Kim reportedly maintained contact with him during and after the election process.
Myung claimed to have met the Yoon couple at their residence multiple times and advised them during the presidential primary process. Lee described Myung as a frequently used messenger for candidate Yoon, emphasizing that messages delivered through Myung often faced less distortion.
However, Lee downplayed the implications of these associations, suggesting that while the progressive camp views the Myung issue as potentially impeachable, the conservative base sees it differently, indicating a need for more evidence to deem it a crisis for the administration.