First lady Kim Keon Hee speaks during a meeting with North Korean defectors and human rights activists at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, July 11 (local time). Joint Press Corps Ruling, opposition parties clash over prosecution’s questioning of Kim behind closed doors By Kwak Yeon-soo First lady Kim Keon Hee was interrogated by prosecutors over allegations that she illegally accepted a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor and was involved in a stock manipulation scheme, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Sunday, Kim was summoned on Saturday for an investigation into graft and stock manipulation cases. She was questioned face-to-face at an undisclosed government building for about 12 hours.
Kim faces allegations that she illegally accepted a Christian Dior handbag valued at around 3 million won ($2,158) from pastor Choi Jae-young during their meeting in Seoul in September 2022, four months after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s inauguration. Choi conspired with YouTube-based media outlet Voice of Seoul to secretly film his meeting with Kim. The media outlet released the footage last November and filed a complaint with the prosecution against Kim and Yoon for bribe acceptance and violating the anti-graft law.
Earlier this month, Kim’s aide told prosecutors that the first lady ordered the return of the bag on the same day she received it. However, the bag was ultimately not returned but instead has been kept at the president.