Park Gee-won of the Democratic Party of Korea said on Oct. 16 that when Park told Kim Hyun-ji, the presidential office's first Deputy Minister, "You're smart, so face the National Assembly audit," Kim replied, "I didn't say I wouldn't go."
Park appeared on KBC Yeouido Invitation and said, "I know Deputy Minister Kim Hyun-ji well." He added, "(She is) from Damyang in South Jeolla, went to high school in Gwangju, attended college in Seoul, and her child is in high school." He continued, "But calling her 'the lady of the house' and 'red,' can we really engage in such slander?"
Park said, "I called (the Deputy Minister for the Presidential Secretariat)," adding, "I said, 'You're smart, so face the National Assembly audit,' and (Kim) said, 'I didn't say I wouldn't go.'" He continued, "I hope we wait until the ruling and opposition floor leaders on the National Assembly's Steering Committee reach some negotiated outcome on whether witnesses will appear."
Park said, "The People Power Party is treating Kim Hyun-ji, the Deputy Minister for the Presidential Secretariat, as if she were on the same level as Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, but she's not in the same weight class." He added, "Did Kim Hyun-ji commit treason, or is there corruption like the power clique around Park Geun-hye's Blue House secretaries?" He continued, "They are mounting a slanderous attack on Deputy Minister Kim Hyun-ji to attack President Lee Jae-myung with things that are not true at all."
Recently, the opposition has pressed that Deputy Minister Kim must appear for the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit. Kim is regarded as one of the closest aides who previously served as a secretary to President Lee Jae-myung. After this administration launched, she was tapped as the presidential office's secretary for general affairs. It has been customary for the presidential office's secretary for general affairs to appear for the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit.
However, after the opposition demanded her appearance, the presidential office moved Kim to first Deputy Minister in the presidential office. In response, the People Power Party protested, calling it a "personnel move to evade the audit." The People Power Party also raised a suspicion that Deputy Minister Kim was involved in the process of Lee Hwa-young, the former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace who was indicted in the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North Korea case, changing his testimony during the prosecution's investigation.