South Korea’s opposition leader urges president to accept investigations into wife and top officials

SEOUL, South Korea – Emboldened by his party’s recent election victory, South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung pressured President Yoon Suk Yeol to accept special investigations into allegations against top officials and his wife as they met Monday for talks on cross-party cooperation.

The meeting was their first since Yoon, a conservative former top prosecutor, took office in 2022 after defeating Lee, a liberal former provincial governor, in the country’s closest presidential race. During their campaigns in 2022, Yoon, Lee and their supporters demonized each other and filed dozens of lawsuits against each other.

Yoon proposed the meeting as he faces increasing calls for cooperation with Lee’s Democratic Party, whose victory in the April 10 general election will allow it to maintain its control of the unicameral National Assembly until the end of Yoon’s single five-year term in 2027 to expand.

In his lengthy opening statement, Lee, now chairman of the Democratic Party, said the election results represented “the people’s solemn demand to correct misgovernance,” address economic problems and restore democratic rules.

Lee called on Yoon to accept independent investigations into the 2022 Halloween massacre in Seoul, which killed 159 people, and the 2023 death of a Marine who drowned during a search and rescue operation for flood victims. Lee’s party accused Yoon of ignoring public demands and blaming senior officials and military commanders for the deadly incidents.

Lee also called on Yoon to investigate “various suspected cases related to his family” that “pose a great burden on government operations.” This apparently meant First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who is accused of involvement in share price manipulation and other scandals.

“I would say it would be good for you as president to respect the National Assembly and see the opposition party as a partner in government operations,” Lee said.

While listening to Lee’s statement, Yoon nodded several times and said he expected Lee to make such comments, but did not elaborate. Their meeting was closed to the media after Lee and Yoon’s opening remarks.

Senior presidential adviser Lee Do-woon said after the meeting that Yoon told Lee that he would not oppose a special law to investigate the Halloween deaths. However, he said concerns about the powers of an ad hoc investigative committee must first be addressed. According to Yoon’s office, Yoon and Lee did not discuss Lee’s calls for further investigation.

During the meeting, Lee also urged Yoon to accept his controversial idea that the government should give all South Koreans 250,000 won (about $180) to stimulate the economy, a move that Yoon’s party has called a populist measure. Lee Do-woon, the presidential adviser, said Yoon said he preferred to specifically support those in need.

In a separate briefing, Democratic Party spokesman Park Sung-joon accused Yoon of lacking the resolve to revitalize the public’s livelihoods. Park quoted Lee as saying he was disappointed with the results of the meeting, although starting direct communication with Yoon still made sense.

No agreement was reached, but Yoon’s office said the president and Lee agreed to meet again without setting a date.

In positive news for cross-party cooperation, Lee Yoon said his party would support the government’s ambitious initiative to increase the number of medical students, which prompted thousands of young doctors to quit their jobs in February. The government recently indicated it was prepared to halve next year’s target increase in medical school enrollments to 1,000 from the originally proposed 2,000, but doctors say they cannot accept an increase in student numbers.

Yoon said South Korea needs to create more doctors because the country has one of the fastest aging populations in the world and its doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in advanced economies. Doctors say schools can’t cope with too much of an increase in student numbers, but critics say they simply worry that offering more doctors would ultimately lead to a decline in their income.

The general election was seen as a litmus test for Yoon, who has struggled since his inauguration with low approval ratings and an opposition-controlled parliament that has limited his political agenda. Critics say the election defeat was largely due to the government’s failure to curb rising prices and other economic problems, as well as Yoon’s personal management and leadership style.

Despite the election defeat, Yoon’s key foreign policy plans are likely to remain unchanged as most of them do not require parliamentary approval. Yoon has strongly advocated for strengthening cooperation with the United States and Japan to address North Korea’s evolving nuclear threat and other challenges.

According to Yoon’s office, Yoon and Lee did not have a meaningful exchange of views on North Korea and other foreign policy issues during Monday’s meeting.