Controversy grew over the report that President Yun Seok-yeol’s wife, Kim Kun-hee, invited the president of a company that won the construction of the presidential residence to the president’s inauguration ceremony. The Democratic Party expressed its intention to investigate the state affairs by asking Mrs. Kim to reveal who invited the company to participate in the construction, and the Dong-A Ilbo also urged the Dong-A Ilbo to reveal the list of invitations to her inauguration and how it happened.
The presidential office, which did not reveal an official position following the first report, said on the 21st that the media today said, “The Presidential Office does not have a list because the inauguration ceremony preparation committee has a list, and it is difficult to disclose the details of the construction of the official residence because it is a security facility.” As a result, the question was not sufficiently resolved.
When the Hankyoreh reported on the front page of the 19th article, “It was confirmed that Mrs. Kim Kun-hee invited the president of the company that won the remodeling project of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul to the presidential inauguration ceremony (May 10),” and the next day, the Dong-A Ilbo. has criticized it. The Dong-A Ilbo published an editorial on the 20th, ‘Controversy over the participation of government officials and others… In the list of invitations to the inauguration ceremony and the circumstances, he pointed out that “controversy continues over the people who were invited to the inauguration ceremony of President Yoon Seok-yeol on May 10.”
The Dong-A Ilbo said, “In 2016 and 2018, I was in charge of the interior of an exhibition hosted by Kobana Contents, which was run by Mrs. Kim,” and “This company was announced by the Public Procurement Service on May 25. The bid was won through a private contract within 2 hours and 49 minutes of posting a bid for the interior project of the presidential residence worth over 100 million won.” Regarding what the CEO of this company explained to the Hankyoreh with the purport that ‘I went to the inauguration ceremony without being invited and returned without being invited,’ the Dong-A Ilbo said, “It is difficult to understand common sense.” The fact that Mrs. Kim herself or people related to criminal cases in which her mother was involved was called out because of the fact that there was such a thing inevitably raises a number of questions.”
The Dong-A Ilbo said, “The government is still ignorant, saying, ‘The list of invitees to the inauguration ceremony was deleted immediately following the inauguration ceremony as personal information. that it is not Do you mean to believe these words as they are?” he asked. The newspaper said, “If the data is really deleted, even if it is restored, the entire list of invitees for the inauguration should be disclosed and the background of the invitations should be revealed as soon as possible. ” he urged.
The Hankyoreh also pointed out in an editorial on the same date, “As the company has confirmed that it had a business relationship with Mrs. Kim and that they were close enough to invite them to the inauguration ceremony, it is necessary to clearly disclose the process of winning the order for the construction,” he said. . The Hankyoreh urged the presidential office to investigate the truth rather than just slurp it as a “security matter.”
The Hankyoreh said that Mrs. Kim also invited regarding 30 conservative YouTubers to her inauguration ceremony, including the far-right Ahn Jung-kwon and her sister, who led the abusive protest in front of former President Moon Jae-in’s home. It cannot be ruled out that the ‘female network’ played a major role rather than the camp history that was claimed at the time.”
In addition, citing the fact that Kim Geon-hee held a special meeting with a graduate of the police academy on the 19th, the Hankyoreh said, “It has long since abandoned the promise to the people to do a ‘quiet domestic help’. There is no organization itself to inspect the
Regarding these allegations, the presidential office did not have a list, and the details of the construction might not be disclosed because it was a security facility, so they did not confirm the facts. A high-ranking official from the presidential office said, “The inauguration ceremony was hosted by the inauguration preparation committee, and the presidential office does not have a list of invitations, so it is impossible to confirm it.” We ask that you understand that it is difficult to disclose details as this is a facility that requires a high level of security.”
In fact, it seems difficult to resolve the question as it is in the position of ‘I don’t know’ or can’t tell.
Meanwhile, Woo Sang-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in an emergency response committee held at the meeting room of the party representative in the National Assembly on the 19th, “It is not a problem that can be solved by keeping one’s mouth shut in the president’s office.” Regarding the invitation for the inauguration ceremony of the representative of the company that won the official residence, Chairman Woo said, “If it is not a normal relationship, the first lady of the president cannot directly invite the president to the inauguration ceremony. In that case, there must be someone who predicts the construction of this project in advance and gives him permission to respond to the bid in advance.
Chairman Woo emphasized, “This issue cannot be taken lightly.” He said, “Please tell me when and in what way this company was informed that this project was going on and solicited a bid, and if it was not Ms. Kun-hee Kim, a third party invited Ms. Kun-hee to participate in this project under the direction of Mrs. Kim.” A government investigation is a must,” he said.
Previously, the Hankyoreh published an article on the front page of the 19th[단독] In the invitation to the presidential inauguration ceremony, Mrs. Ahn Jung-kwon, president of official residence remodeling, said, “In the list of invitations for the inauguration of President Yoon Seok-yeol secured on the 18th, Mr. On May 25 of this year, a week following the inauguration ceremony, he received a contract for the remodeling of the government house in Hannam-dong, Seoul, worth 1.24 billion won.”
The Hankyoreh said, “After the announcement of the official residence remodeling project was posted on the National Electronic Procurement website of the Nara Market, it took only 2 hours and 49 minutes for Company A to win the bid. In 2016 and 2018, the company was in charge of the interior construction of the exhibition hall hosted by Kovana Contents, which was run by Mrs. Kim, and was also listed as a sponsor of ‘Le Corbusier’ and ‘Alberto Giacometti’ exhibitions planned by Mrs. Kim.” and wrote
The Hankyoreh said in a phone call with the Hankyoreh, “I attended (inauguration ceremony) just because I was curious. I was not invited,” he wrote, “I just went and came back because the line was long.” It was reported that Mrs. Kim inquired with the presidential office regarding how Kim invited Kim to the inauguration ceremony, but the presidential office did not answer.