(2nd LD) Yoon apologizes for wife’s ‘unwise conduct’

President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized Thursday for what he called the "unwise conduct" of first lady Kim Keon Hee, referring to allegations she illegally accepted a luxury bag in 2022. "I apologize for causing concern to the people with the unwise conduct of my wife," he said during a press conference marking the second anniversary of his presidency. He said he would refrain from commenting further, however, given that a prosecution investigation is already under way into the allegations and his remarks could be misconstrued as trying to influence the probe. On the opposition's calls for a special counsel investigation into separate allegations the first lady was involved in stock price manipulation, Yoon said such investigations should come only after those of the prosecution and other agencies are deemed insufficient. Calling for another investigation when enough has been done is a "political offensive," he said. Yoon fielded a wide range of questions on political and foreign policy issues. Before enteri ng the briefing room for the press conference, he gave an address to the nation from his office to reflect on his first two years in office and present a plan for the remaining three years. In the address, he said he will create a new ministry to tackle the country's low birth rate. "In order to overcome the low birth rate, which can be considered a national emergency, we will fully mobilize all of the state's capabilities," he said. The head of the new ministry, tentatively named the "low birth response planning ministry," will double as the deputy prime minister for social affairs and draw up policies across the education, labor and welfare sectors that will become the national agenda, he said. Yoon requested the active cooperation of the opposition-controlled National Assembly in revising the government organization law to enable the launch of the new ministry. Source: Yonhap News Agency