President Lee on Claims to Restore Kim Hye-kyung’s Birthplace: “Something That Never Happened... a Crime That Defames Another Person”

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung, who is visiting New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, strongly dismissed claims raised by some quarters that efforts were underway to restore the site of his wife Kim Hye-kyung’s birthplace, calling them “a crime that defames another person.”
On Sept. 23, President Lee made the remarks while reposting on his X account an image posted by an account bearing the words, “Kim Hye-kyung’s Birthplace Restoration Promotion Committee Launched.”
President Lee said, “The story about restoring the site of my wife’s birthplace was an incident that occurred on July 3 last year (2025),” adding, “My wife’s family home was in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, but her birthplace was an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Seoul.”
He continued, “As soon as controversy arose last July over the absurd talk of restoring her birthplace, I sought out those involved and issued a stern warning. This matter had already been put to rest.”
He sharply criticized attempts to distort and circulate a simple past incident as though it were an ongoing matter.
President Lee pointed out, “The photo introduced in the reply makes it clear that this concerns something from the past. I also believe the person who wrote this did not do so unknowingly.”
He repeatedly emphasized, “Criticism is free, but presenting something that is over as though it were happening now is not freedom of expression; it is a crime that defames another person.” He added, “We should refrain from attacking someone based on words they never said or events that never happened, treating them as facts.”


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