Prosecution begins probe into former first lady’s trip to India
The prosecution said Tuesday it has launched an investigation into accusations that former first lady Kim Jung-sook spent an “excessive” amount of taxpayers’ money to fund her 2018 trip to India, after such allegations resurfaced in recent days.
The investigation was launched nearly six months after the complaint by a ruling party member was filed.
In December last year, Lee Jong-bae, a People Power Party member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, filed a complaint against Kim with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, accusing her of breach of trust related to the India trip, abusing public funds, embezzling from the national coffers and abuse of power.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, it recently decided to open the investigation amid growing controversy that her visit wasted taxpayer money. Prosecutors plan to look into the exact circumstances that led to Kim’s trip to India, as well as whether expenses of the paid.
The controversy surrounding Kim’s visit to India has recently been reignited as former President Moon Jae-in published his memoir on May 18, “From the Periphery to the Center,” containing reflections on significant issues during his presidency from May 2017 to May 2022.
Central to the renewed debate was Moon’s description of his wife’s visit to India using the presidential jet, which also drew criticism from conservatives at the time. They argued that the former first lady’s trip amounted to a junket financed by taxpayer money.
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited me to return to India for the opening of the Heo Hwang-ok Memorial Park, but it was difficult for me to visit India again,” Moon wrote.
“So I declined, and India then asked me to send my wife instead. The reason I elaborate on this is that there are people who maliciously distort the facts as if my wife went on a junket using taxpayer money.”
trip were properly
Moon described the visit as “the first standalone diplomacy by a first lady.” It was the first time the former president spoke about the controversy, which has drawn criticism from conservatives for years.
Kim’s visit sparked controversy over whether she was officially invited for the visit that cost 400 million won ($290,000), as it was the first time in 16 years that a Korean first lady had made a foreign visit without the president. The ruling People Power Party has claimed that her taxpayer-funded visit was to fulfill her wish to visit the Taj Mahal, despite Moon’s explanation that the Indian government had invited her.
The People Power Party has also criticized Kim for spending 400 million won of public funds, including about 62 million won on lavish in-flight meals.
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party proposed a bill Monday calling for a special counsel to investigate the allegations that Kim abused her power, including by traveling abroad.