A satirical jab on a comedy show has thrown South Korea’s would-be first ladies into the political spotlight, as their rising visibility on the campaign trail fuels controversy ahead of the June 3 presidential election.
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Seol Nan-young, wife of conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo, targeted Kim Hye-kyung – the spouse of Democratic Party front-runner Lee Jae-myung – during last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live Korea, a local adaptation of the American sketch comedy show.
In the segment, Seol appeared as herself and mocked a comedian playing the wife of her husband’s political rival, warning: “Do not use [a government-issued] corporate credit card.”
The joke referred to a real-life scandal involving Kim Hye-kyung, who in May was fined 1.5 million won (US$1,100) by a local high court for misusing a government card while her husband was governor of Gyeonggi province.
The court found that her actions, which included buying meals for spouses of Democratic Party lawmakers, served her husband’s political interests during his 2021 presidential campaign.
Seol went further, saying on the show that misappropriating taxpayer money was “malicious, as it was covered by taxes”. She has also claimed that during her husband’s own tenure as governor of Gyeonggi, the couple had “strictly followed regulations regarding card usage”.