Lydia Ko, a New Zealand golfer with 23 LPGA Tour victories, has categorically denied allegations that she provided luxury golf lessons to Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of President Lee Jae-myung, and has announced plans for legal action.
On October 26, Ko took to her social media platform Instagram to state, "The article published today is not true and has nothing to do with me."
She added, "On the date mentioned in the article, I was fulfilling my official event schedule with my sponsor, and there is no connection to the reported content."
Ko emphasized, "I plan to take legal action against any articles, posts, or comments that spread false information or damage my reputation, depending on the circumstances."
She also included the hashtag '#NotMeWhoIsIt' at the bottom of her post to distance herself from the allegations.
Earlier, Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party raised suspicions about Kim's golf outing during a National Assembly audit and on his social media. He claimed that on October 20, the day of a fire in Seoul's Yeoksam-dong, Kim played golf at the Taereung Country Club with a well-known male professional golfer and named Lydia Ko as one of the golfers, questioning who covered the lesson fees.
The Blue House responded firmly to Joo's allegations, issuing a statement through its communications office warning, "We will hold accountable those who report unverified claims as facts or spread false information."
Lydia Ko gained recognition at the age of 15 when she won her first LPGA Tour event. She secured a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking her third consecutive Olympic medal, and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame the same year. Since marrying Jeong Jun, the son of Hyundai Card Vice Chairman Jeong Tae-young, in 2022, she has continued to perform at a high level.
Ko did not participate in the BMW Ladies Championship held in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, last week but is set to compete in the LPGA Tour Maybank Championship in Malaysia from October 29.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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