Whereabouts of ‘gifts’ First Lady receives from pastor Choi are still in question

Prosecutors have not indicted First Lady Kim Keon-hee on charges of violating the anti-graft law, but the whereabouts of "gifts," such as a luxury bag, cosmetics and liquor, Kim received from Pastor Choi Jae-young are still in question.

The only thing prosecutors currently have in their possession is the luxury bag. The ownership of the luxury bag is likely to be disputed in the future. The prosecution said, "Kim's side showed an intention to give up ownership and it will be returned to the state treasury through a public auction process in accordance with the confiscated property rules.” Pastor Choi's side is hoping to get the bag back through the confiscated property return process. However, the prosecution believes that Choi does not have the authority to do so, as only the owner or submitter can apply for the return of confiscated property under the Criminal Procedure Act.

As the process of returning the bag to the state is not immediately available, the prosecution will keep it for the time being. The prosecution's confiscation rules stipulate that "seizures in non-prosecuted cases must be returned to the owner when the final process, such as prosecution appeals, is completed." “Voice of Seoul” appealed to Kim's non-prosecution and said it would go through an objection process until the end, so it takes a considerable amount of time for such a process to be fully completed.

The whereabouts of other gifts Kim received are also of interest. Kim’s side told prosecutors that she had already destroyed other gifts from Choi, including cosmetics and alcohol. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office dismissed the indictment against Kim on October 2, saying, “Cosmetics, electric lamps, and traditional liquor were damaged and disposed of in August 2022 when there was a very heavy rainfall in Seoul’s Seocho area, causing water damage to the office of (Kovana Contents) in Acro Vista.”

However, Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae gave an answer that could be understood differently from the explanation of the prosecution's investigation team, leaving questions about the timing of the disposal of cosmetics. Park said in the parliamentary inspection of the administration by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 8th, "When I checked the non-indictment (of Kim and others), the cosmetics and liquor were not confiscated and were disposed of immediately at that time." This could be interpreted that Kim disposed of the gifts immediately after receiving them from the pastor.

Pastor Choi met with Kim in June 2022 and gave her Chanel cosmetics and perfume worth 1.8 million won. According to the prosecution's explanation, Kim kept the cosmetics in her office for about two months before discarding them, which is different from Minister Park's statement that she “threw them away immediately.” In the non-indictment, Park said he confirmed that the cosmetics were discarded, but the non-indictment, which the Kyunghyang Shinmun checked on the 9th, does not say whether the cosmetics were discarded or mention their whereabouts.

The Ministry of Justice said Park's statement did not mean that Kim “disposed of the cosmetics as soon as she received them.” An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "(Minister Park's answer) means that cosmetics have not been confiscated because they are not found in the fire station," adding, "It means that there was nothing to confiscate because they were already discarded." An official from the ministry said, "(Park's answer) means that the cosmetics have not been confiscated because they are not found in the non-indictment. It means that there was nothing to confiscate because they were already discarded." An official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said, "The prosecution confirmed that the cosmetics were damaged by flood damage by combining statements from those involved and objective data."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.