On Thursday, lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party engaged in a heated debate regarding allegations that First Lady Kim Keon Hee was involved in the nomination of candidates for the 2022 by-election and the upcoming April 2024 parliamentary elections. During a parliamentary audit of the National Election Commission, representatives from the People Power Party rejected these claims, asserting that they were unfounded and unrelated to the first lady or President Yoon Suk Yeol. Conversely, Democratic Party members accused the ruling party of repeating past mistakes of interference in state matters, reminiscent of scandals from the Park Geun-hye administration. The controversy centers around Myung Tae-kyun, a figure linked to a public opinion polling agency, who allegedly leveraged his connections with the first lady and President Yoon to secure the nomination of former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun for a by-election in Changwon. Democratic Party Rep. Yang Bu-nam highlighted that Myung reportedly spent significant funds on a survey for Yoon's presidential campaign in exchange for Kim's nomination. In response to calls for an inquiry into the first lady's involvement, Kim Yong-bin, secretary general of the NEC, indicated that while an investigation is ongoing, the results of a commission inquiry are not binding.