Extramarital scandal drags popular politician and actress into legal mud fight

By Park Sae-jin Posted : June 27, 2018, 17:20 Updated : June 27, 2018, 19:45

A file picture shows Lee Jae-Myung, governor-elect of Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- A 57-year-old maverick actress has challenged Lee Jae-myung, a prominent liberal politician who once competed with President Moon Jae-in to become a ruling party presidential candidate last year, to come clean on their alleged secret love affair.

In her Facebook post on Wednesday, Kim Boo-sun said she is ready to face a police investigation, accusing Lee of playing Truth or Dare well before he was elected as Gyeonggi Province governor in local elections this month.

Lee has accused Kim of making false claims that they had an extramarital affair from 2007 to 2009. The scandal, which surfaced in March, has been used and fanned by conservative groups for a pre-election campaign to hurt Lee's reputation, despite his consistent denial.

Undeterred by public reprimand and disgrace, Kim has uploaded a volley of tweets and Facebook posts, accusing Lee of being unfaithful. Kim has claimed that she met Lee at her house in May 2009. 
 

[Kim Boo-sun's Facebook]


A committee formed by pro-Lee supporters filed complaints with prosecutors this week, saying her claims are "totally" groundless.
 
The scandal has shocked many South Koreans because Lee was a popular mayor at Seongnam, one of Seoul's satellite cities. In this month's elections, many voters did not mind the scandal to elect him as governor in the country's most populated province surrounding Seoul.

Traditionally, Geyonggi with a population of 12 million, or 23 percent of the entire population, has been a politically important area.  As yet, the scandal has not posed a great threat to Lee's political life, but he could suffer fatal damage if Kim's claims are found to be true.
 

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