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People Power Party presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol adjusts his mask while at a campaign event at a cafe in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood on Sunday. (pool photo)

As controversy continues to rage over seven hours of telephone conversations involving Kim Keon-hee, wife of People Power Party (PPP) presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol, the party is now feeling the heat ahead of a scheduled ruling Tuesday in an appellate trial involving Yoon’s mother-in-law.

Kim’s mother, a 75-year-old surnamed Choi, is scheduled to appear at the Seoul High Court on Tuesday on charges including fraud.

On July 2 of last year, the Uijeongbu District Court sentenced Kim’s mother to three years in prison and had her taken into court custody. Choi, who is not a medical professional, was convicted of improperly accepting 2.29 billion won (US$1.9 million) from Korea's national health insurance system after establishing a long-term care hospital in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in February 2013.

She was released on bail two months later, in September 2021, and is being tried without detention in the appellate case.

If Choi is acquitted in her appellate trial, that would free Yoon from one of the risk factors threatening his presidential run — the other two chief ones being himself and his wife.

But if her conviction is upheld, that would deal an inevitable blow. Consecutive guilty rulings in court stand not only to raise questions about the “fairness” and “common sense” that have been central themes of Yoon’s campaign, but also to negatively impact public sentiment ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday.

In an invitational roundtable at the Kwanhun Club on Dec. 14, Yoon claimed that the punishment of his mother-in-law was the result of an over-the-top “targeted investigation.”

Within the PPP, some are voicing concerns about the allegations concerning Yoon’s wife and mother-in-law that continue to emerge with the election imminent.

“It’s not as big a risk as his wife, but with so little time left until the election, [Choi’s conviction] would by no means be a small matter,” said one PPP lawmaker.

A PPP official said, “We’ll have to see how the mother-in-law situation plays out, but to be honest, Yoon has lost the aura of ‘fairness’ and ‘common sense’ he had through things like the mother-in-law’s indictment and the Deutsch Motors allegations in connection with Kim Keon-hee.”

By Bae Ji-hyun and Choi Ha-yan, staff reporters

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