The problematic documentary film ‘First Lady’ about President Yoon Seok-yeol‘s wife, Kim Gun-hee, a ‘rebellum leader’, is meeting with audiences amid hot interest, and is drawing attention by releasing two pop art posters.

‘First Lady’ deals with the story of Kim Gun-hee, who has been at the center of controversies such as receiving an expensive Dior bag, changing the Yangpyeong Expressway route, and suspicions of civilian intervention in state affairs.

The poster that was released this time catches the eye as it reinterprets Kim Gun-hee’s face as pop art. Kim Hoon-tae, the CEO of the production company, Today Pictures, said, “The biggest limitation when planning the ‘First Lady’ poster was that it was difficult to use explicit photos of Kim Gun-hee.” “So after much thought, I thought that if I reinterpreted it as pop art that reminds people of her, I could avoid various legal issues. This poster is reminiscent of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein‘s work ‘Happy Tears’, no matter who looks at it,“ he said.
The artist who worked on this poster, Jo Deok-hee, said, “In light of the thesis plagiarism issue that Kim Gun-hee had become, I tried putting in the title of the song ‘I Believe’ by Shin Seung-hoon, which was circulated on the Internet when he held a press conference to apologize to the public as the wife of a former presidential candidate, ‘Member Yuji,” as a speech bubble.”

Meanwhile, this film, which focuses on the fact that the First Lady, not the President, is privatizing power and causing various controversies, features Pastor Choi Jae-young, who delivered the Dior bag; Reporter Lee Myeong-su of Seoul Voice, who spoke on the phone with First Lady Kim Gun-hee for over 7 hours during the 20th presidential election; and Chairman Jeong Dae-taek, who has been in a lawsuit with Kim Gun-hee’s family for over 10 years. The film also includes various interviews, including the falsification of Kim Gun-hee‘s academic background and career, plagiarism of her thesis, suspicions of stock price manipulation at Deutsche Motors, and allegations of involvement with shamans including Cheon-gong, which were already problematic before the election of President Yoon Seok-yeol.



Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com