First lady remains out of public view on Election Day, inviting attacks

South Korea's controversy-ridden first lady, Kim Keon Hee, reportedly cast her vote unbeknownst to the public or apparently the presidential office, raising questions and drawing attacks from President Yoon Suk Yeol's political opponents.

Liberal YouTube channel "Park Yeol TV" revealed in a post in the channel's community section on Tuesday that Kim had voted during early voting on Friday at a polling station in Itaewon 1-dong of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which is near the presidential residence.

Channel host Park wrote he knew someone working at the polling station who said they had checked her face against her ID. The post added that she had been wearing a blue dress and glasses, and had been surrounded by bodyguards.

This revelation followed broadcaster MBC's report that Kim was found to have already cast her vote in the general election last Friday. Yoon's office was not immediately available for comment.

Yoon, on the other hand, cast his ballot publicly in Busan on Friday, as he visited the port city in the southeast to celebrate the opening of the new container terminal in Busan New Port. Photos of Yoon on Friday showed that he was alone without the first lady.

This election is the first time in 46 years for a married president and their spouse not to make a public appearance together at a polling station, since ex-President Park Chung-hee voted in 1978 with his daughter, Park Geun-hye, following the death of then-first lady Yuk Young-soo in 1974.

Traditionally, South Korean presidents and first ladies have voted together in domestic elections, in part to encourage citizens to exercise their democratic right to vote.

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, an outspoken Yoon critic and opponent as well as founder of the new Rebuilding Korea Party, said during campaigning in Seoul Tuesday, "In South Korea's history, I have never seen a case where the first lady did not vote publicly in a general election. What is there to be ashamed and fearful of?"

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