Even with the wife of the Romanian leader, ‘private’: ‘Isn’t this a diplomatic discourtesy?’ Noh goes on the offensive.

While President Yoon Seok-yeol held a summit meeting with the Romanian president as his first diplomatic move after the general election, first lady Kim Kun-hee, who was expected to resume her public activities by attending her spouse’s event, did not appear.

President Yoon had a summit meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the Yongsan Presidential Office yesterday.

However, at events such as the official welcome ceremony and summit luncheon that were open to reporters, neither First Lady Kim Kun-hee nor Carmen Iohannis, the spouse of the Romanian president, were seen.

As the President of Romania visited Korea with his spouse, there was speculation that he would hold a public event with First Lady Kim as a matter of diplomatic practice, but this was not the case.

It is known that Mrs. Kim and Ms. Iohanis kept their separate spouse exchange schedules private, and an official from the Presidential Office explained, “Please understand that the details will not be disclosed in accordance with the agreement between the two countries.”

This is in contrast to the public image of Mrs. Kim having lunch with Ms. Yuko Kishida during Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to Korea in May last year.

Ms. Kim’s stealth has continued for more than four months since her visit to the Netherlands in December last year.

Mrs. Kim gave a letter of remembrance to the bereaved family on the 4th anniversary of Inspector Yoo Jae-guk’s death in February, and is known to have been present at a luncheon between President Yoon and the CEO of Netflix, but the President’s Office did not disclose this appearance.

It was belatedly revealed that Mrs. Kim had secretly voted in advance during the April 10 general election, but the President’s Office did not make any statement at this time either.

The opposition party went on the offensive, claiming that this was a “shameful disrespect for diplomacy.”

[진성준/더불어민주당 정책위의장(SBS라디오 ′김태현의 정치쇼′)]
″I don’t know what kind of disrespect it is to the Romanian leaders, but it seems that Mrs. Kim Kun-hee has a difficult time exposing herself to the public. So I think she suggested that we just hold a private event, and since Romania can’t do it, I think she accepted that. This too is truly shameful.”

In relation to Ms. Kim’s continued stealth, the ruling party is also providing advice such as, “President Yoon should explain Ms. Kim’s issue at the leadership meeting with the Democratic Party and find a breakthrough so that she can resume public activities.”