CIO chief addresses Kim Hye-kyung’s ‘emperor-style golf’ allegations: ‘Subject to investigation, but whether it constitutes a crime must be examined’

[Financial News] Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said that President Lee Jae Myung and his wife were, by virtue of their status, ‘subject to investigation by the CIO’ in connection with the so-called ‘emperor-style golf’ controversy, but declined to comment on whether the allegations actually constituted a crime.
Oh said this on the 26th in response to a question from Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) during a comprehensive audit of state affairs by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee: ‘Was it so wrong for the president and first lady to play golf once at Taereung Golf Course? If someone files a complaint, would they be subject to investigation?’
Oh also answered ‘Yes’ to a similar question from Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party, who raised the ‘emperor-style golf’ allegations. However, he said, ‘Whether President Lee Jae Myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung committed a crime is something that needs to be examined,’ and did not offer a specific legal assessment.
Under the current CIO Act, those subject to investigation include high-ranking officials across the executive, legislative and judicial branches, including the president and prime minister, the speaker and members of the National Assembly, the chief justice and justices of the Supreme Court, and judges and prosecutors. In the case of the president, the president’s spouse and relatives within the fourth degree of kinship are also subject to investigation.
Separately, DPK lawmaker Kim Eui-kyeom said a video Joo had posted on social media (SNS) was inappropriate for the state audit and asked that it not be screened. Seo Young-kyo, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, refused, saying, ‘We cannot show a video at the audit that appears to have been filmed in secret.’ She warned Joo that he would have to take responsibility for spreading false information, and Joo objected, saying, ‘I will release the entire video.’
Earlier that morning, Joo claimed on SNS that Ms. Kim had played golf in a group of three at Taereung Country Club on the 20th while receiving an ‘emperor-style’ lesson from a professional golfer. Joo also wrote, ‘They even opened the president’s exclusive, lavish clubhouse,’ and, ‘An on-course lesson with a world-class professional golfer costs tens of millions of won.’
As the controversy spread, the Blue House’s Office of the Senior Secretary for Public Relations and Communications stressed that day, regarding Joo’s claims about Ms. Kim’s golf and reports citing them, ‘We will hold those responsible strictly accountable for reporting unverified claims as if they were facts or spreading false information.’
[email protected] Yoo Sun-jun Reporter