Lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon's luxury handbag gift to ex-first lady draws bribery accusations

Lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has been accused of bribing former first lady Kim Keon Hee in March 2023, when he won a vote to become the party leader.

Former First Lady Kim Keon Hee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after her pretrial detention hearing ends in the afternoon on Aug. 12. [NEWS1]

Lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has been accused of bribing former first lady Kim Keon Hee in March 2023 after winning a vote to become the party leader.

On March 17, 2023 — nine days after the PPP convention — Kim Gi-hyeon's wife gave Kim Keon Hee a Roger Vivier handbag worth about 1 million won ($690), along with a handwritten note thanking her for "helping her husband win the party leadership race."

The special probe team investigating the former first lady discovered the handbag on Thursday while executing a search warrant at Kim Keon Hee’s residence at the Acro Vista complex in Seocho District, southern Seoul. The search was part of a separate investigation into allegations that a luxury interior design firm, 21gram, provided high-end gifts to the ex-first lady in exchange for a government residence renovation contract. The handbag was found during the search, prompting the special prosecutor to request an additional warrant under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and expand the scope of the investigation.

In a statement released Friday, Rep. Kim claimed the gift was merely a “social courtesy” from the spouse of the new ruling party leader to the first lady, with “no further meaning.” He added, “Neither I nor my wife had anything to request from [then] President Yoon Suk Yeol or the first lady, and we had no reason to do so.” He described the note as a polite message expressing hope for smooth cooperation between the president and the party.

The 2023 PPP convention — where Kim Gi-hyeon won the leadership race — had already come under scrutiny in the special counsel investigation due to allegations that the Unification Church orchestrated mass membership registrations to sway the vote. Prosecutors suspect the church mobilized its followers to back Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a key ally of former President Yoon.

Investigators found that from October 2022 to March 2023, approximately 3,100 individuals were registered en masse as PPP members through the Unification Church. The special counsel concluded the group sought to increase its influence over the party, pursue favorable policies and potentially even secure proportional representation seats in the National Assembly.

People Power Party lawmakers Kweon Seong-dong, left, and Kim Gi-hyeon watch the election ballot count program at the National Assembly, western Seoul, on June 3, the day of Korea's presidential election. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

On Friday, prosecutors indicted the former first lady, Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and shaman Jeon Seong-bae, known as Geon Jin, on charges of violating the Political Parties Act.

Investigators suspect that after Rep. Kweon withdrew from the race, the church shifted its support to Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, with Kim Keon Hee acting as an intermediary. After Kim Gi-hyeon’s victory, his wife, aware of the first lady’s involvement, reportedly sent the handbag as a token of gratitude.

The ex-first lady’s legal team denounced the seizure of the Roger Vivier handbag as an unrelated overreach. In a statement on Saturday, Kim Keon Hee's lawyers acknowledged that a clutch bag worth about 1 million won had been delivered by “the new party leader’s camp” to the president’s spouse in 2023.

“It was a customary, socially appropriate gift with no expectation of anything in return,” the legal team said. “We understand the special counsel’s aggressive approach, but we strongly object to the exaggerated speculation implying a quid pro quo.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JEONG JIN-WOO [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]