“Can apologize if we meet in private” ... Joo Jin-woo refuses to apologize publicly to Lydia Ko

[Financial News] People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, who raised allegations that Kim Hye-kyung had played so-called “emperor golf” with professional golfer Lydia Ko, said he could apologize to Ko privately but would not apologize publicly. He argued that demands for a public apology were “a frame created by the left.”
In a livestream on his YouTube channel on the afternoon of the 27th, Joo explained why he had raised allegations about Kim’s golf. “I raised the issue because I was uncomfortable with scenes that looked like ‘emperor golf,’ with a professional golfer accompanying her or giving her lessons. But they twist the point and make it about telling me to apologize to the professional golfer,” he said. “Well, if I happen to meet Lydia Ko privately, I can certainly apologize.”
Asked why he would not apologize publicly, he said, “But why don’t I apologize? Because that’s the left’s framing.” He continued, “It’s as if the point is to bury all the issues I’m raising (so they lose their meaning): if I apologize, then I’ve admitted wrongdoing, and because I’ve admitted wrongdoing, all the issues I’ve raised can be buried.” He said, “That’s why I confronted it head-on.”
The controversy began at a comprehensive audit of state affairs by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 26th. Joo claimed at the time that “at around 11:05 a.m. on the 20th, Kim played ‘emperor golf’ with Lydia Ko at Taereung Country Club (CC).”
He went on to raise questions, saying, “In Lydia Ko’s case, field lesson fees alone run into the tens of millions of won,” and, “Lydia Ko is the daughter-in-law of a chairman of a certain conglomerate. If someone from a family with many government matters at stake gave Kim free lessons, wouldn’t that raise legal issues under the Kim Young-ran Act or involving illicit influence-peddling?”
Joo posted videos about what happened at the golf course on YouTube and social media (SNS), and also used a photo showing Lydia Ko competing in an event.
On the 26th, the day the allegations were raised, Lydia Ko responded on her social media account: “The contents of the article published today are not true and have absolutely nothing to do with me.” She explained that on the 20th, when she was alleged to have played golf with Kim, she was attending an official event hosted by a sponsor. She also raised the possibility of legal action over the spread of false information.
After Lydia Ko denied the allegations, a photo of the player was removed from the video Joo released. However, Joo did not separately disclose that the photo had been taken out of the video.
In a YouTube livestream on the 26th, Joo described some of the content concerning Lydia Ko as “partly erroneous” but did not apologize. After he held a press conference the following morning, reporters again asked whether he planned to apologize to Ko. He refused, saying, “The Democratic Party of Korea’s ‘apologize’ frame is nothing more than an attempt to muddy the waters over this.”
Demands for Joo to apologize continued at a Democratic Party of Korea Supreme Council meeting on the 28th. Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi criticized him, saying, “At the audit, Joo named Lydia Ko and said she gave Kim an ‘emperor lesson’ worth tens of millions of won. He even included a photo of her competing in the video.” He added, “Lydia Ko, who has won Olympic gold, silver and bronze and spent her life building her reputation under her own name, is now recorded in the National Assembly minutes (because of Joo) as someone who gave preferential treatment to the first lady.”
Jeon criticized Joo for acknowledging that the information was wrong while refusing to apologize publicly. He said, “He called it ‘evidence,’ then an ‘error’; called it an ‘explanation,’ then made an ‘excuse’; and when told to ‘apologize,’ he calls it ‘muddying the waters.’ He truly has no sense of shame.” He continued, “The person who deserves an apology is not the Democratic Party but Lydia Ko, whose name was brought up despite her having done nothing wrong,” and demanded, “Don’t do politics at the expense of someone else’s life.”


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter