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Photos, including this one, of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee at the presidential office were posted to social media on May 29. (capture from the Facebook group “Keon-hee Love”)

On May 27 and May 28, photos of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, taken at the presidential office in Yongsan were publicly released through Kim’s fan club, drawing controversy. We believe this is not a simple matter to be overlooked as an incident related to having a “commuting president,” as the presidential office explained it away.

Kim’s online fan club “Keon-hee Love” posted 7 photos in total. Three of the photos show Yoon and the first lady on their way to the presidential office after early voting in the local elections on May 27. The other four pictures are of Yoon and his dog, taken on Saturday, May 28, inside his office and on the lawn in front of the building it’s housed in.

As concerns arose about the public disclosure of the presidential office, a key national security area, an official from the presidential office claimed on Monday that Yoon and his wife were “privately spending time on the weekend,” and that the pictures were not a problem since it happened in the realm of the president and first lady’s private life.

However, Friday, May 27, when three photos were taken, was not a holiday. Many people will certainly wonder if it was appropriate for Kim to enter the presidential office to snap pictures on a normal working day when she did not have any official appearances scheduled.

Above all, it is worrisome that these photos were disclosed through a fan club and not through official presidential office communications channels. In addition, the presidential spokesperson’s office did not even know that the photos were released publicly until two days after they had been released.

At first, the presidential office denied that the pictures came from an insider, saying they did not believe the photos were taken by an employee at the presidential office. However, a mere 20 minutes later, they changed their stance and clarified that “an office staff member took the pictures with Mrs. Kim's camera, and it seems that Mrs. Kim sent it to her fan club.”

The official added, “Photos of the president's family are not managed by the presidential office.” However, this statement ignores the fact that these photos were taken in a public space of work rather than at the private or official residence of the president and his wife.

All employees working at the presidential office have special security apps installed on their phones to prevent them from taking any unauthorized photos or videos. However, according to the presidential office, the “security regulations for the first lady are similar to those that apply to the president.” If so, it is necessary to publicly clarify what exactly these rules entail.

It is also hard to compare this situation with that of when photos of former US President Barack Obama and his family were posted on fan sites. This is because, in the case of the US, the presidential office and official residence of the president’s family are all attached as one in the White House. But this is not the case in Korea. Also, in the case of the US, these were not pictures taken privately and there was no deliberate leak.

Hopefully, this controversy will serve as an opportunity for the first family and the presidential office to reflect on the standing of the president’s spouse as a public figure.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]