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| ▲ This undated photo, uploaded on a Facebook account of first lady Kim Keon-hee's supporters on May 29, 2022, shows President Yoon Suk-yeol (R) and Kim sitting at the presidential office in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) first lady-Roh widow
(LEAD) First lady visits ex-President Roh's widow
(ATTN: UPDATES with visit in paras 1-7; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- First lady Kim Keon-hee paid a visit to the widow of former President Roh Moo-hyun at her home in the southeastern village of Bongha on Monday.
Kim took a train to the village about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul and stopped first at the grave of the late former president to pay her respects.
The visit was widely interpreted as the start of Kim's public activities, as she has largely kept a low profile since the presidential campaign.
Dozens of local residents welcomed the first lady with cheers and applause, prompting her to stop in her steps to acknowledge them with silent nods.
She then entered the home of Roh's widow, Kwon Yang-sook, and their meeting took place in private.
Roh was a liberal icon who took his own life in 2009 amid a sprawling corruption probe.
Yoon told reporters earlier Monday to not read too much into the first lady's visit, saying it was something she had wanted to do since last year.
"She's been planning to visit since last year, but the schedule didn't work out, and now she's going," Yoon said as he arrived for work, when a reporter asked if he had sent a message in advance and whether the visit would mark the beginning of Kim's public activities.
"Why do you have to interpret everything in such a complicated way?" he quipped.
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