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Amid talks of his impeachment, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is battling a series of blunders, including the brief but controversial imposition of martial law, to save his political career. Among the several incidents that have eroded his public support and shifted sentiment against the government is a luxury handbag from Dior that was given to First Lady Kim Keon Hee under questionable circumstances.
Although this incident took place in 2022, it came into the spotlight in November 2023 and escalated into a political storm this year, Bloomberg reported.
While prosecutors have cleared Kim of criminal charges, the Opposition parties in South Korea claim the luxury bag was given as a bribe and have demanded an independent investigation into the matter.
On their behalf, both Yoon and the First Lady have denied all charges and claimed the gift was part of a “manoeuvre” to discredit them.
It all began after a video shot by a pastor, Choi Jae-young, showed the purchase of the Dior bag for 3 million won ($2,250 or roughly ₹1,90,000 back then).
Choi, who has taken a stand against the president's tough stance towards the neighbouring country, North Korea, shot the controversial video through a camera concealed on a watch.
In the video, he is seen walking into what looks like the office of a planning firm run by Kim and giving her a shopping bag, which apparently had the Dior bag. “Why do you keep bringing these?” Kim was heard saying in the video. She then added, "Never buy something expensive like this."
However, the video emerged a year later on a left-leaning political site, which usually expresses views opposed to Yoon's policies.
The incident soon reminded the people of the past “pay-to-play” scandals where individuals used their access to power for personal gains. Further, it started a debate over whether the First Lady brought the unwelcome publicity upon herself or was she being targeted for raising her profile.
In July this year, Kim was questioned by the prosecutors for nearly 12 hours in connection with the incident. After that, her lawyer told Yonhap News that the South Korean First Lady responded in a “sincere manner and told the truth.”
As a result, the prosecutors did not find any evidence of favours offered in return for the luxury bag. Addressing the issue, Yoon said that it stemmed from his wife not being able to cut ties with the pastor.
"It will be important to draw a clearer line to ensure that such incidents do not happen again," Yoon noted.