hankyoreh

First lady Kim Keon-hee stands over President Yoon Suk-yeol as he reviews material aboard the presidential jet headed to Madrid for the NATO summit on June 27. (provided by the presidential office)

Kang Hee-cheol

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s oldest friends tacitly agree that there’s a touchy subject they better not broach with Yoon: first lady Kim Keon-hee.

Yoon’s friend of 40 years told me that friends stopped talking about Kim to Yoon at some point because “[Yoon] tends to overreact when it comes to matters concerning his wife.” The friend also mentioned that they don’t recall ever going on a couples’ trip with Yoon and Kim. They estimated that the relationship between the two is more than that between lovers, and that Kim is the one with the upper hand in the relationship.

A former prosecutor who assisted Yoon closely when he was a prosecutor general who is now a lawyer joined Yoon’s presidential campaign team, only to be dismissed immediately. What brought him trouble was the fact that he directly confronted Yoon about allegations concerning Kim, which were being raised one after another as if a floodgate had been opened.

A lawmaker of the ruling camp who took on an important post during the presidential campaign and pointed out the seriousness of the liabilities posed by Kim at the time also disappeared from the news once Yoon came to power.

The relationship between Yoon and Kim is anything but ordinary. When pictures taken at the presidential office — a national security facility — were leaked through Kim’s fan club, stirring controversy of a “security mishap,” Yoon remained silent. When Kim brought a former employee of the company she used to run to an official visit to the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun, prompting criticism that she should better distinguish between public and private matters, Yoon asked in return, “Are not all citizens free to visit Bongha Village?”

This is why Kim once again had the audacity to bring an acquaintance of hers with no public standing to an official trip abroad without scruples. Those favored and protected by the highest authority like Kim have been called “the dragon’s scale” since olden times to signify that touching them will trigger the dragon’s ire.

Lately, unusual activities are being observed around Kim, one such dragon’s scale. After causing concerns by establishing a private organization and collecting dues, the president of Kim’s fan club — whom Kim is reportedly in direct contact with — is now offering tips related to pending political issues from within the ruling camp.

Kim’s older brother has also been the topic of gossip in relation to this and that since before the presidential campaign. Kim herself is a first lady accused of a crime — unprecedented in the history of the constitutional government of South Korea. Allegations that drove Yoon to different corners multiple times during his campaign were also all related to Kim, Kim’s mother, or Kim’s family in general.

Recently, Kim has been zealously expanding the scope of her activities, so much so that she may as well be participating in one engagement per day. By nature, Kim is someone who ran her own company for a very long period of time. They say she rounded off her business activities once her husband was elected to the presidency, but the network of connections she cultivated still clearly exists. Reportedly, some of her former employees from her previous company have now been hired by the presidential office and will be working at the presidential residence.

As the Choi Soon-sil scandal demonstrated, the presidential residence is a world of its own. Who frequents the space and what happens there aren’t disclosed to the public. Unofficial power grows where light does not penetrate.

In spite of this, Kim is out of bounds and untouchable when it comes to Yoon. People who have butted heads with Yoon regarding Kim ever since the election know the angry face Yoon puts on when the subject of his wife is raised. Even Yoon’s closest associates end up zipping their lips when met with Yoon’s wrath.

Even more, the president is surrounded by pushovers as his subordinates. This is the condition on which administrations create their sacred ground. And when authority loses its power, that very sacred ground can turn into an Achilles’ heel in the blink of an eye.

If Yoon wasn’t in the position he is in currently, he would have been the first to advise that the president needs to appoint a presidential inspector as soon as possible. A presidential inspector isn’t all-powerful, but since the Special Inspector Act stipulates its first subject of inspection as “the spouse and relatives (fourth cousins or closer) of the president,” one can say a prevention and inspection system tailored for Yoon’s situation already exists.

Yoon’s immediate family consists of his elderly parents, but they’ve been living together with Yoon’s younger sister for quite some time. In contrast, the situation can’t be more different when it comes to Kim or her family. There’s no need to elaborate who the presidential inspector will pay close attention to once the post is filled.

“Why wouldn’t Yoon, a former prosecutor who specialized in special crimes, be aware of the dangers posed by the special inspector? Even during the Choi Soon-sil scandal, then-presidential inspector Lee Seok-su’s internal investigation was what blew up the case. I think that’s why Yoon has purposely left the position unfilled. I expect the post to remain vacant moving forward,” said a legal professional who has known Yoon since he was a newly appointed prosecutor.

Sure enough, even though two months will have passed since Yoon’s inauguration as of Sunday, and the National Assembly has been normalized, the president has yet to request recommendations for the presidential inspector post. The convenient excuse that the Moon Jae-in administration left the post vacant for five years straight as well exists, but that wouldn’t align with the Yoon administration’s express goal of restoring common sense and uprightness to South Korea. If Yoon really doesn’t want a presidential inspector in place, it would be commonsensical for him to propose to scrap the Special Inspector Act, the basis for the existence of a presidential inspector.

“I’m nervous. It’s only a matter of time until something blows up. It would be a relief if that something is minor, but if it’s not, well…” a legal professional and old friend of Yoon’s told me, his expression clouded with worry.

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