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By Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday denied any wrongdoing in a burgeoning influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife that is seriously damaging his popularity ratings and providing ammunition politicians to his rivals.

This political storm coincides with South Korea facing a series of critical foreign policy issues, such as Donald Trump’s election victory to become the next president of the United States and the entry of North Korea in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

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The scandal revolves around allegations that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee exerted inappropriate influence on the ruling conservative People Power Party to choose a certain candidate to run in a parliamentary by-election in 2022 at the request of Myung Tae-kyun, an electoral intermediary. and founder of a polling agency that conducted free opinion polls for Yoon before he became president.

The scandal has dominated headlines in South Korea for weeks, as Myung’s leaked phone conversations show him boasting about his influence over the presidential couple and other senior ruling party officials.

Asked about his ties to Myung at a press conference on Thursday, Yoon said: “I have not done anything inappropriate and I have nothing to hide regarding Myung Tae-kyun.”

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Yoon said he never interfered in the nomination processes of PPP candidates and never asked Myung to conduct surveys for him, although he acknowledged that Myung provided him with insight. sort of help during his 2021 presidential primary campaign.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party said Yoon’s response only showed his “arrogance” and “self-righteousness.” The party had previously called on Yoon to apologize, reshuffle top officials and agree to an independent investigation into his wife.

The Democratic Party recently shared what it says is an audio file of phone calls between Yoon and Myung on May 9, 2022 — a day before Yoon took office for a single five-year term. The opposition party says the conversation proves Yoon provided Myung with political favors in exchange for free investigations.

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In the audio file, Yoon can be heard telling Myung that he asked a PPP committee to choose Kim Young-sun, a senior party member, to run in one of the legislative by-elections the following month. Kim Young-sun eventually secured the party nomination and won the election.

In the file, Myung is heard saying, “I really won’t forget this favor for the rest of my life.” THANKS!”

South Korean election law prohibits officials, including the president, from intervening in elections, but places no such restrictions on the elected president. It is therefore unclear whether Yoon violated the law.

Recent polls have shown Yoon’s approval rating has fallen below 20% for the first time since his inauguration. Kim Keon Hee is dealing with other scandals, such as spy camera footage allegedly showing her accepting a luxury bag as a gift from a pastor.

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Yoon apologized for causing public concern about him and his wife, but stressed that many of the allegations raised were not consistent with the facts.

Some ruling party lawmakers have accused the Democratic Party of deliberately stepping up political attacks against Yoon and his wife in an effort to save its embattled leader, Lee Jae-myung, from legal problems.

Lee, a firebrand lawmaker who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, is facing four separate trials over corruption and various other allegations. The district court’s first two rulings against Lee on his election law violation and perjury charges are set for November 15 and 25. Either a prison sentence or a fine of more than 1 million won ($750) in the election law case would oust Lee as a lawmaker and disqualify him from running for office for five years, although he will likely appeal any guilty verdict.

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Polls show Lee is the early favorite for the 2027 presidential race to succeed Yoon.

On foreign policy, Yoon – who has worked closely with Washington and Tokyo to consolidate security cooperation in the face of North Korean threats – expressed optimism that the three-way partnership will continue to grow under the Trump administration. He said he wanted to meet with Trump and new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba soon to coordinate policies.

During his previous presidency, Trump participated in highly orchestrated nuclear summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Yoon noted that North Korea’s arsenal has advanced significantly since the collapse of Trump’s diplomacy with Kim in 2019.

Yoon said Trump “will receive full reports very soon on how North Korea’s nuclear technologies and capabilities have changed since then.”

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“After receiving these reports, I believe we will be able to have more meaningful and in-depth discussions when we have the opportunity to meet,” Yoon said.

Asked about concerns that Trump’s “America First” approach could harm South Korean business interests through increased tariffs and other measures, Yoon said Seoul was deploying ” multifaceted efforts to minimize losses to the economy of our people.”

“Things may not be exactly the same as under the Biden administration,” he said, “but we have been preparing for a long time to hedge these risks.”

Earlier Thursday, Yoon had a phone call with Trump, congratulating him on his election victory and discussing strengthening bilateral cooperation. The two agreed to hold an in-person meeting soon, according to Yoon’s office.

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The prospects for South Korea-U.S. relations under Trump “may depend on Yoon’s ability to establish positive chemistry with Trump immediately during the transition and maintain a close personal friendship to convince him to want to support the interests from Seoul,” Duyeon Kim said. senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

“This may be the only way to avoid devastating consequences and surprises in alliance relations – including South Korean questions about Washington’s defense commitment – that we currently assume will occur based on Trump’s harsh rhetoric against his allies and his transactional style,” she said.

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