President Bowing "Apologies for Me and My Wife"...I'm against the special counsel.

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol held a press conference ahead of the halfway point of his term and apologized to the public, saying that First Lady Kim Gun-hee caused concern by her careless behavior.

However, he reaffirmed his position that he cannot accept allegations of state intervention and opposes the special prosecution claimed by the opposition party.

Reporter Cho Yong-sung reports.

[Reporter]
President Yoon Suk Yeol bowed his head from the start of his public statement ahead of the press conference.

He said that what he started for the people's livelihood caused inconvenience and concern, and that everything was his fault and his wealth.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President: First of all, I would like to express my sincere apologies to the people, and then I will proceed with this State of the Union briefing.]

{President Yoon asked about the meaning of his apology at a press conference following the statement, saying that First Lady Kim Gun-hee had not properly managed people around him since the election.

At the same time, he admitted that there was something wrong with his behavior.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President: We need to be more careful in everything, but I think it's definitely wrong to worry the people like this]

In particular, he and Kim continued to communicate on their personal phones and promised to change the way they communicated, acknowledging their responsibility for the criticism that various controversies arose.

However, regarding the suspicion of intervention in state affairs, he drew the line that helping the president as a wife cannot be called a manipulation of state affairs, but that it has been treated and demonized.

Regarding the independent counsel law being pushed by the opposition party, he strongly criticized the appointment of an independent counsel against the president and the ruling party as political instigation, saying it is against the constitution.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President] Special Counsel's work is also judicial. But it's not judicial action, it's political incitement. The fact that the special prosecution is conducted with this is a violation of human rights for others.]

Regarding the external activities of First Lady Kim Gun-hee, she said that she has virtually stopped it except for what must be done in the national interest and will continue to do so in the future.At the same time, President

Yoon disclosed that he had issued a second deputy chief and explained that he would appear soon.

In addition, the president's office predicts that Kim will not accompany her on this month's trip and expects related risks to be reduced.

I'm YTN's Cho Yong Sung.

Reporter for shooting
: Choi Young-wook Kim Jong-wan

Video editing: Kim Jiyeon