Photo : YONHAP News

The ruling People Power Party(PPP) called for a special counsel investigation into former First Lady Kim Jung-sook’s trip to India by herself when her husband, former President Moon Jae-in, was in office, and for the former first couple to issue a public apology.

In a statement on Wednesday, PPP chief floor spokesperson Jang Dong-hyeok said Kim’s trip in 2018 was revealed to have been arranged by the first lady and for the first lady, in reference to Moon’s recent memoir, in which he touted it to be Kim’s first solo diplomacy.

The spokesperson criticized the former president for falsely claiming that India had first requested Kim’s solo visit, when in fact the foreign ministry stated that the Moon government had first proposed the idea after Moon’s presidential visit had fallen through.

Jang then called for a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel probe into then-government officials’ alleged false briefings to Moon, and for the former first couple to apologize to the South Korean people.

Appearing separately on local radio programs on Wednesday, PPP Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and lawmaker-elect Na Kyung-won also called for an investigation into the allegations.