Culture Ministry: "No Separate Budget for First Lady Kim Hye-kyung"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has strongly pushed back against allegations that the budget supporting events attended by the First Lady has increased under the Lee Jae-myung administration.

In a press release yesterday (October 22), the ministry stated, "We do not have a separate budget for the First Lady," adding, "The First Lady merely attended cultural events hosted by the ministry."

The ministry emphasized, "K-culture is spreading worldwide," noting, "The ministry and Korean Cultural Centers abroad plan events taking local demand into account, and unlike in the past, both participants and audience sizes have grown significantly."

In particular, it cited an example in New Delhi, India, where the audience for the 'K-pop contest' surged from around 800 people last year to 3,000 this year.

First Lady Kim attended the contest event in April during President Lee's overseas tour to India.

The ministry further added, "To spread K-culture, the ministry plans overseas events through consultations with host countries in coordination with local diplomatic missions," explaining, "The First Lady attended these events when feasible, such as during presidential overseas tour schedules."

In short, the ministry stressed that First Lady Kim Hye-kyung merely attended events planned and hosted by the ministry, that no separate budget is allocated for her, and that the increase in the related budget was driven by growing global interest in 'K-culture.'

Earlier, a media outlet reported that 1.411 billion won was allocated to support events attended solely by First Lady Kim Hye-kyung without President Lee Jae-myung from September of last year to July of this year, claiming this was a significant increase compared to budgets that supported former first ladies Kim Keon-hee and Kim Jung-sook.

(Photo: Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.