South Korea’s new first lady takes on new role

South Korea: As South Korea chose its next president in a tightly contested election, the spotlight also turned to Kim Keon-hee (pic), the spouse of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has actively pursued her career running an exhibition planning firm.

Kim, a chief executive officer and founder of the company, has kept a low-key presence on the campaign trail since being bombarded by a series of allegations and rumours.

And while she had little room to show off her personality in public during the campaign period, she revealed she would “quietly” assist the president-elect in the background.

“I believe it is the most important job (for the wife) to create an environment where (Yoon) can do his best to manage state affairs,” Kim said, in response to The Korea Herald’s question.

“For the president-elect to concentrate on the people, I will assist him quietly.”

Born in 1972, Kim majored in painting at Kyonggi University and carried on with her master’s degree in art education, eventually earning a doctorate in digital content design.

Building her way up in the arts and design industry, Kim worked as an instructor at schools and universities and also founded the cultural content company Covana Contents in 2007.

“From an early age, I was interested in art. (From my academic background) I naturally came to desire to start a business that can spread the value of art,” Kim said in an interview with DongA Business Review in 2015, talking about her company’s foundation.

Kim tied the knot with Yoon in March 2012. There is no particularly heart-touching love story or meet-cute known about their relationship, but the history between Yoon and Kim goes back years, according to Kim.

In an interview in 2018, Kim revealed she had known Yoon “for a long time”. After a shared acquaintance suggested they would be a good match, they got married in 2012. Kim was 40, and Yoon was 52.

They have no children. They live with four dogs and three cats.

While she has been active in pursuing her career, she is now likely to take a role as a strategic surrogate for Yoon, as she said she would “work alongside the president-elect to raise his awareness on areas in society where the government could not reach”. — The Korea Herald/ANN