President Yoon vows communication changes, rejects special prosecutor law

[Anchor]

President Yoon mentioned the issue of communication methods, such as the use of personal phones, as one of the backgrounds for the various allegations and controversies that have arisen, and stated that he would make changes.

He was firm regarding the special investigation into First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

He stated that it is unconstitutional and cannot be accepted.

Reporter Lee Seung-jae has the details.

[Report]

A question arose following the president's response that he would effectively suspend First Lady Kim Keon-hee's public activities, except for matters related to national interest.

[Reporter’s question: "During the presidential election, there was a so-called 7-hour phone call with a YouTuber, and afterwards, conversations with a suspicious religious figure, as well as the so-called Myung Tae-kyun incident... These controversies seem to stem more from personal, private contacts rather than public activities..."]

In response, President Yoon brought up his mobile phone.

He implied that the continued use of personal mobile phones by himself and First Lady Kim Keon-hee is one of the backgrounds for the various controversies that have arisen.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol: "It should have been completely changed according to the protocols of previous presidents, but because I didn't do it myself, if we go to the root cause of these issues, it lies with me..."]

President Yoon explained that after his mobile phone number was made public when he joined the People Power Party, he received around 3,000 text messages. After collapsing from exhaustion during the campaign, he got up to find that the First Lady had been responding to those messages all night.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol: "Are you crazy? What are you doing without sleeping... I think the issues arose because she feels she can't just cut off connections and needs to at least say thank you when receiving help from someone."]

President Yoon announced that he appointed a new head of the second secretariat today (11.7) to assist Kim's activities, indicating that the second secretariat would soon be established.

Additionally, the presidential office stated that Kim would be managed in the public domain going forward, and that the personal mobile phone numbers of the presidential couple would also be changed.

During the Q&A session today, President Yoon expressed the perception that the political attacks against him and the First Lady had gone too far.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol: "It’s basically an exaggeration, and they have even created things that don’t exist, targeting me and demonizing my wife."]

There was also a question about what exactly the apology today was for, to which President Yoon responded that it is not appropriate to dispute facts during a press conference, reiterating his apology.

[Reporter’s question: "The public may be confused about what exactly the president is apologizing for."]

[President Yoon Suk Yeol: "In any case, the reason for the concern caused to the public is due to the conduct of myself and my wife, and there are issues that need to be addressed to prevent such incidents from happening again."]

President Yoon reaffirmed his opposition to the special prosecutor law targeting the First Lady, which the opposition party has been relentlessly pushing for, stating that it's not out of love or a need to defend his wife, but because it's unconstitutional and politically motivated.

This is KBS News, Lee Seung-jae.