Anti-corruption agency closes case on first lady's Dior bag allegations

In this photo taken in February 2023, first lady Kim Keon Hee visits an exhibition presenting the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, a collection of records that explain how to prepare for and conduct royal ceremonies during the Joseon era. (Presidential office)

The state anti-corruption agency said Monday that it had closed an inquiry into allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee broke anti-graft legislation when she received a high-end designer bag from a pastor in 2022 because it has found no violation of the law.

“Under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, there is no provision for presidential spouses. Therefore, the case has been closed,” Deputy Chairman Jeong Seung-yoon of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said during a press briefing at the government complex in Sejong, an administrative city 120 kilometers south of Seoul.

Earlier in December 2023, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a corruption complaint with the agency against the first lady, President Yoon Suk Yeol as well as the pastor on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation And Graft Act.

Meanwhile, in November 2023, the liberal YouTube-based news channel Voice of Seoul claimed that Kim received a bag worth about 3 million won ($2,300) from a Korean American pastor named Choi Jae-young in September 2022 and released a video recording of the scene. The video was secretly filmed by the pastor using a camera disguised as a watch, and the bag was reportedly provided by Voice of Seoul.

In May, Choi was questioned by prosecutors on charges of secretly filming his delivery of the handbag to the first lady.

By Lee Jaeeun(jenn@heraldcorp.com)