Prosecutors questioned First Lady Kim Keon Hee face-to-face for the first time from Saturday to early Sunday on allegations of receiving a Christian Dior handbag and other luxury gifts in exchange for favors and her involvement in a stock manipulation case, the South Korean prosecution confirmed Sunday. This marks the first time in history that the wife of a sitting president, President Yoon Suk Yeol, has been summoned for a prosecution investigation. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office announced Sunday that Kim was questioned for around 12 hours, from 1:30 p.
m. Saturday to 1:20 a.m.
Sunday, at an undisclosed government building behind closed doors "for security and safety reasons." Kim's legal representative, lawyer Choi Ji-woo, stated Sunday, "Kim diligently cooperated with the investigation and truthfully testified to all the facts." He added that she had fully explained her position.
The scandal centers on accusations that Kim illegally received a Dior handbag worth about 3 million won ($2,158) and other expensive gifts from Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young in September 2022, allegedly in exchange for favors. Kim's close aide, surnamed Yoo, conceded during questioning in early July that the first lady did receive the handbag but claimed she ordered it returned to the pastor the same day. However, Yoo said she forgot to return it because of other tasks, and the handbag has since remained unused and stored by the presidential office, emphasizing that there was no intent to use the bag.
During the questioning, prosecutors mainly focused on how the bag was received and any solicitations made by Choi. South Korea's local media reports suggested that the prosecutors mainly examined whether receiving the Dior handbag from Pastor Choi constituted a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The luxury handbag investigation began in December last year when Baek Eun-jong, head of the media outlet Voice of Seoul, accused Kim of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
In November 2023, Voice of Seoul, a liberal YouTube-based news channel, published a video showing Choi handing over a Dior handbag worth about 3 million won to Kim during their September 2022 meeting in Seoul. The pastor secretly filmed the video with a camera disguised as a watch, and the bag was reportedly provided by Voice of Seoul. Kim has also been accused of manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors Inc.
, a BMW dealer, from 2009 to 2012. Kim allegedly conspired with Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and trader Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest and known as the “control tower” of the scheme. Therefore, prosecutors focused on the circumstances and extent of her involvement in the Deutsch Motors stock transactions during the questioning, according to multiple local reports.
This included questions about her role as a main investor, her ties with the chief conspirators and her account usage. The investigation into Deutsch Motors began in April 2020 after Choe Kang-wook, a former National Assembly lawmaker, filed a complaint against Kim for alleged violations of the Capital Market Act. Kim is the third first lady in South Korean history to face questioning.
Lee Soon-ja, wife of authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan, was questioned in 2004 regarding Chun's slush fund case, and Kwon Yang-sook, wife of former President Roh Moo-hyun, was investigated in 2009 in connection with an alleged graft scandal involving her family. However, both Lee and Kwon were questioned as witnesses..
