Despite Cheong Wa Dae's denial that public monies were spent for first lady Kim Jung-clothing, sook's the controversy surrounding her and the presidential office continues.
The White House stated on Tuesday that previous allegations that Kim used special activity funds to buy costumes and accessories for herself were "baseless accusations," and that only "personal expenses" were used to make the purchases. Kim's garments, which were sponsored for abroad visits and international events, were "donated or returned," according to the office.
The issue resurfaced earlier this month when Cheong Wa Dae appealed a Seoul Administrative Court ruling in favor of local civic group Korea Taxpayers' Association's demands that the Moon Jae-in administration disclose information on off-the-record expenses, including how much it spent assisting Kim with special activity expenses.
The civic organization suspected the Moon government of abusing its spending authority. It was said that Kim exploited her husband's presidential power to purchase high-end clothing and accessories, some of which are supposed to be rare or custom-made by well-known designers.
While the presidential office attempted to put the matter to rest, conservatives questioned why Cheong Wa Dae still refuses to release details on special activity spending.
"While Cheong Wa Dae responded that all of the clothes for President Moon Jae-wife, in's Ms. Kim Jung-sook, were purchased with personal funds, it continues to refuse to reveal information on how it spent the special activity expenses," said Rep. Kang Min-kuk, a People Power Party spokesperson, in a statement on Wednesday.
The National Intelligence Service and other major government departments use the funds for intelligence objectives.
The People Power Party then demanded that the presidential office produce evidence that Kim's garments were purchased with personal funds, and that Kim return any items purchased with special activity funds.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok said, "One thing Cheong Wa Dae should know is that its claim that 'all' of the garments were bought with private monies will come apart with just a single incident to the contrary."
"The Moon Jae-in administration was sensitive to the Park Geun-hye government's spending of special activity expenses, so I hope no contrary instances are exposed from the office."
Following a complaint submitted by a civic group last week, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency assigned the issue to the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Probe Division in response to rising calls for an investigation into the case. Kim was accused of embezzlement and causing losses to the national treasury, according to the lawsuit.
On the other hand, others on the opposing side have been speaking out, throwing gasoline to the fire.
In a radio interview Tuesday, Moon's protocol secretary, Tak Hyun-min, stated, "From the very beginning of the administration, we have been on the same page in regards to matters like special activity expenses, thus we have not done any private transactions like buying garments with government cash."
"Because there are no restrictions governing the purchase of garments for the First Lady, there is no such transaction including specific activity expenses in the purchase of clothes." Ms. Kim's outfits were not purchased with any of Ms. Kim's special activity funds."
The Democratic Party has accused people who made the charges of having "malicious intent" to harm Moon's and others around him's reputations before his term ends in May.
In a statement released Tuesday, Rep. Jo O-seop, a Democratic Party spokesperson, said, "President Moon recruited a secretary to exclusively manage the budget and finances, taking care of all of his living expenses with his private funds, working more than any other administrations to transparently execute the budget."
"It's distressing to witness an unsubstantiated assertion devolve into black propaganda."
