South Korea’s political wives see their pasts laid bare as election mudslinging intensifies
- The wives of Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol have made headlines for alleged financial irregularities, abuse of power and fortunetelling
- The candidates themselves have been dogged by a series of allegations, leading to the campaign being dubbed an ‘unlikeable election’
In South Korea’s presidential election campaign marked by mudslinging, even the would-be first ladies haven’t been spared from personal attacks.
This is in stark contrast to the traditional way in which the wives of male leaders in Asia have tended to stay in the background during election campaigns. Usually, they attract publicity for state visits, ceremonies or charity events.
The wife of the current South Korean President Moon Jae-in has seldom been in the news, just as the wife of former leader Lee Myung-bak – who is still serving his 17-year prison term for corruption – has also remained in the background.
Park Geun-hye, who succeeded Lee and is Moon’s predecessor, was South Korea’s first female president. She has never married. In December she was released from jail after serving part of a 22-year sentence for corruption and influence-peddling.
It’s a different story for the wives of the two candidates in the election set to take place on March 9, who have consistently made headlines in the past few months for anything from alleged financial irregularities to links with shamanism.
The negativity surrounding the campaign has led some pundits and the local media to dub the campaign an “unlikeable election”, where ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol from the conservative People Power Party are locked in a tight race, with Yoon slightly leading over Lee.
The latest controversy came last week when Lee apologised for his wife Kim Hye-kyeong’s alleged use of credit cards belonging to the provincial government for personal purchases last year.