Prosecutor General Lee One-seok answers questions from the press as he arrives at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap Kim Keon Hee likely to be cleared of Dior handbag allegations By Anna J. Park Korea's top prosecutor proposed, Monday, to amend the country's anti-graft law to clarify rules regarding the first lady amid controversy over a recent recommendation by an investigation review committee not to take action against first lady Kim Keon Hee for accepting a luxury handbag from a pastor.
The controversy began in late 2022 when Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young secretly recorded himself presenting a Dior handbag to Kim. Choi alleged that the handbag, worth 3 million won ($2,248), was a bribe given in exchange for favors he sought from her. The investigation review committee at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, comprised of 15 outside experts, recently recommended against indicting Kim, concluding that the acceptance of the Dior bag and other gifts from the pastor was not related to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official duties.
This decision reaffirmed an earlier ruling by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (SCDPO), which had been investigating the case. Earlier, investigators at the SCDPO determined that there was no recognized job-related connection for the gift, making it difficult to apply charges such as bribery or influence peddling. They also noted that the country’s anti-graft law does not include provisions for punishing the.