Amid talk of his impeachment, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is battling a series of blunders to save his political career, including imposing brief but controversial martial law. One of the many incidents that has destroyed her public support and turned sentiment against the government is a luxury handbag from Dior that was given to First Lady Kim Keun Hee under suspicious circumstances.
According to Bloomberg report, although the incident took place in 2022, it made headlines in November 2023 and turned into a political storm this year.
While prosecutors have cleared Kim of criminal charges, opposition parties in South Korea claim the luxury bag was given as a bribe and have called for an independent investigation into the case.
For their part, both Yoon and the First Lady have denied all allegations and claimed that the gift was part of a “maneuver” to discredit them.
It all started after a video shot by a pastor, Choi Jae-young, showed the purchase of a Dior bag for 3 million won ($2,250 or approximately ₹1,90,000 at the time).
Choi, who has been vocal against the President’s tough stance towards neighboring North Korea, shot the controversial video with a camera hidden in her watch.
In the video, he is seen walking into the office of a planning firm run by Kim and giving her a shopping bag, which apparently contained a Dior bag. “Why do you keep bringing these up?” Kim was heard saying this in the video. He then added, “Never buy anything this expensive.”
However, the video surfaced a year later on a left-leaning political site that generally expresses views opposed to Yoon’s policies.
The incident quickly reminded people of past “pay-to-play” scandals, where individuals used their access to power for personal gain. Additionally, debate began over whether the First Lady brought herself unwanted publicity or whether she was being targeted to raise her profile.
In July this year, prosecutors interrogated Kim for about 12 hours in connection with the incident. After that, her lawyer told Yonhap News that the South Korean first lady “responded honestly and told the truth.”
As a result, prosecutors found no evidence of benefits being paid in exchange for the luxury bags. Addressing the issue, Yoon said that it arose from his wife not being able to break up with the pastor.
“It will be important to draw a clear line to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” Yoon said.
