First lady attends exhibition by Ukrainian children

First lady Kim Keon Hee attended an exhibition by Ukrainian children Tuesday in her third public appearance after she avoided the public eye for five months following a luxury bag gift scandal.

First lady Kim Keon Hee, center, attends an exhibition by Ukrainian children held at the Blue House compound in central Seoul on Tuesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

First lady Kim Keon Hee attended an exhibition by Ukrainian children Tuesday in her third public appearance after she avoided the public eye for five months following a luxury bag gift scandal.

Kim visited the exhibition held at the former Blue House presidential compound in Seoul, marking a rare solo appearance by her.

The presidential office said Kim played a role in bringing Ukrainian children's drawings to South Korea after her meeting with Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, in July 2023 as part of the NATO summit spouses' program in Lithuania.

Kim had not been seen in public following a visit to the Netherlands on Dec. 15 until recently, amid allegations she illegally accepted a Christian Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor armed with a hidden camera in 2022.

Breaking a five-month hiatus, Kim joined President Yoon Suk Yeol's official luncheon visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his wife on Thursday. The presidential office released several photos of her.

First lady Kim Keon Hee, second from right, attends an exhibition by Ukrainian children held at the Blue House compound in central Seoul on Tuesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

On Sunday, Kim accompanied Yoon's attendance at a ceremony celebrating the return of rare Buddhist relics from a U.S. museum at a temple in Yangju, Gyeonggi, with some 4,000 attendees on hand.

Her return to public view came after Yoon apologized for his wife's "unwise conduct" during a press conference held to mark the second anniversary of his taking office earlier this month.

Yonhap