President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, after a trip to Southeast Asia, Oct. 11, 2024. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

First lady Kim Keon Hee has once again found herself at the center of controversy following the release of a recorded phone conversation with a self-proclaimed political broker, allegedly discussing the ruling party's candidate nomination process for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.

This marks the first time that Kim's suspected voice has been publicly linked to the presidential couple's alleged influence over the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) candidate nominations, further complicating their legal troubles as President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment proceedings.

On Monday evening, SisaIN, a local weekly magazine, released a phone recording of a conversation between Kim and Myung Tae-kyun, the alleged political broker who has been indicted on charges of violating political funding laws.

In the recorded conversation, Kim said, "The president-elect just called, and he told me not to use his name but to 'just push it through.'"

The first lady also appeared to reassure Myung that "everything will be fine" despite opposition from several PPP members about the nomination process.

In response, Myung said, "Yes. Thank you. I won't forget this. I'll see you tomorrow."

The phone call allegedly took place on May 9, 2022 — one day before Yoon was sworn in as president. Myung attended Yoon's inauguration ceremony held the next day. The call occurred about 40 minutes after a separate phone conversation between Yoon and Myung, the report claimed, during which the two also discussed candidate nominations.

The exchange between the first lady and Myung adds weight to allegations that Myung leveraged his close ties with the presidential couple to push for former PPP lawmaker Kim Young-sun's candidacy for a parliamentary by-election in June 2022. The PPP officially nominated the candidate on May 10.

It is illegal for civil servants, including the president, to interfere in elections.

Myung, a self-described political broker based in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, is accused of receiving about 90 million won from the former lawmaker in exchange for helping her secure the PPP nomination. Both Myung and the former lawmaker were indicted in December on charges of violating political funding laws.

Such speculations were first raised in October by a local media outlet. Myung threw himself further into the limelight by revealing screenshots of past text messages with the first lady, in which she appeared to seek his advice during Yoon's presidential campaign.

Following a months-long probe by the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, the case was transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office earlier this month. The decision was made based on the fact that most of the individuals involved reside in Seoul, the investigators said.

This move has led to speculation that the probe may now widen to direct questioning of the presidential couple.

Yoon has firmly denied the accusations. During a press conference in November, he rejected any involvement in influencing the 2022 by-elections, emphasizing that there was "nothing inappropriate or to hide."