Presidential Office spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka yesterday resigned from her post following a media report that she was allegedly having an affair with a married man.
The man, a police officer surnamed Lee (李), had been assigned to Kolas’ security detail while she was running for Hualien County commissioner during last year’s local elections, the Chinese-language Mirror Media reported.
Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said it was a “personal matter for Kolas.”
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Taipei Times
“While the office hopes it will be handled properly, it has no further comment on the matter,” Lin said.
Kolas has submitted her resignation, which was approved by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), she added.
Mirror Media reported that after Kolas returned to Taipei to work as Presidential Office spokeswoman, she maintained a rental property in Hualien County and frequently stayed there with Lee.
The report said that Lee’s wife has filed a civil lawsuit against Kolas seeking NT$1 million (US$32,183) in damages.
Kolas and Lee yesterday apologized in separate Facebook posts, saying they had “never overstepped any boundaries, nor engaged in intimate behavior together.”
“The media report exaggerated many things. I didn’t know Lee’s marital status, and we never engaged in intimacy. I have no contact with Lee now,” Kolas wrote.
“I would like to apologize to any of Lee’s family members who have been affected [by these allegations]. I believe the facts will be clarified,” she wrote.
Lee said that he had told his wife that he wanted a divorce, which she agreed to, but that divorce procedures dragged on without progress.
He had not told Kolas that he was married, Lee said.
“I only sought conversation with Kolas and we were never intimate,” he wrote.
“I am deeply sorry. I apologize to those I have hurt,” he added.
However, Lee’s wife on Facebook said she had screenshots of Line text messages between Kolas and Lee showing that the two had sexual intercourse.
“Kolas knew from the very beginning that my husband was married, but she still disregarded ethics and morals and destroyed my family without any sense of guilt,” she wrote.
“My husband used to be a happy, family-oriented person, but because of Kolas, he has completely changed,” she added.
The Hualien County Police Department, where Lee is employed, said that it would conduct an internal investigation into the allegations.
Lee has headed Yuemei Police Station in Hualien County’s Shoufeng Township (壽豐) since May 30.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS