Golfer says she was at sponsor event on day in question; threatens legal action over false reports

Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays at the Lotte Championship earlier this month. [Getty Images]
Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays at the Lotte Championship earlier this month. [Getty Images]

LPGA Tour golfer Lydia Ko (29, New Zealand) has denied allegations that she played golf with first lady Kim Hye-kyung and gave her a lesson.

Ko posted a statement on her Instagram on Monday saying the reports published that day were false and had nothing to do with her. "In particular, on the date mentioned in the article, I was fulfilling an official schedule for a sponsor event and have absolutely no connection to what was reported," she added.

She also said she would take legal action, as appropriate, against articles, posts and comments that spread unverified falsehoods or damage her reputation. The post included the hashtag "#that'snotemewho'sthat."

Earlier Monday, People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo raised the allegations at a national audit session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, claiming that Kim Hye-kyung, wife of President Lee Jae-myung, had played golf with a well-known professional golfer at Taereung Country Club in Seoul on Tuesday. Ju said he had obtained a tip identifying the golfer as Lydia Ko and claiming Ko had given Kim a golf lesson.

Ko responded directly through social media, denying the allegations by saying she had been attending an official sponsor event on the date in question.

Lydia Ko posted a denial of the allegations on her social media account on Monday. [Captured from her social media]
Lydia Ko posted a denial of the allegations on her social media account on Monday. [Captured from her social media]

Cheong Wa Dae also rebuffed Ju's claims, calling them one-sided allegations unsupported by facts.

Ko, a New Zealander of Korean descent, made her LPGA Tour debut in 2014 and has since won 23 titles. In 2024, she was inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.

Ko is scheduled to compete in the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship in Malaysia, which runs for four days beginning Thursday.


yjc@heraldcorp.com