Yoon rejects South Korean opposition's calls for special investigation of his wife, top officials
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president on Thursday dismissed calls for independent investigations into allegations involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.
After his conservative ruling party suffered a heavy loss in the recent April 10 parliamentary elections, President Yoon Suk Yeol faces what appears to be his biggest political challenge yet as opposition parties would extend their control of the National Assembly to 2028.
The opposition has recently stepped up its demand for an independent investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee over various scandals, such as her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and the release of spy camera footage showing her receiving a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor.
In a news conference marking his two years in office, Yoon said he apologizes for what he calls "my wife's unwise behavior" in accepting the Christian Dior bag but refused to elaborate because the scandal is under investigation by prosecutors.
Yoon described the demand for a new, special investigation on Kim's shares price allegation as a political offensive, as Kim wasn't charged or convicted from investigations that began when the Democratic Party was in power. Yoon already in January had vetoed a bill calling for the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate his wife's stock price allegation.
During Thursday's conference, Yoon also made it clear that he opposes another Democratic Party-led push for a special investigation into suspicions surrounding the death of a marine who drowned during a search for flood victims in 2023.
Yoon called the marine's death heartbreaking, but stressed that police and an anti-corruption investigation agency have already been examining the case. Yoon said he would approve a new independent investigation if police and the anti-corruption investigation agency fail to address public suspicions over the case. Questions over why the marine was mobilized without safety gear and whether the government tried to prevent top officials from being held accountable have persisted.