South Korean prosecutors drop charges against first lady over ‘unwise’ luxury bag saga

She received the handbag and gifts but they did not relate to her official duties and no favours were given in return, prosecutors concluded

Reading Time:1 minute

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) described the handbag scandal as a political manoeuvre, but later apologised for causing public concerns over his wife Kim Keon-hee’s “unwise behaviour”. Photo: AP

Published: 5:04pm, 2 Oct 2024

Prosecutors in South Korea have decided not to charge first lady Kim Keon-hee over allegations of inappropriately accepting gifts last year, including a Christian Dior handbag, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Seoul prosecutors’ office.

The scandal has caused a political uproar in South Korea and contributed to a bruising election defeat for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ruling party in April.

After a months-long investigation into whether Kim violated anti-corruption laws, prosecutors concluded that although she received the handbag, Chanel beauty products and whisky from a pastor, these gifts did not relate to her official duties and no favours were given in return, Yonhap said, citing the prosecutors’ office.

Calls to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office went unanswered. Yoon’s office said it had no immediate comment.

02:23

South Korean leader apologises over wife’s Dior handbag saga, vows to improve livelihoods

Prosecutors also decided to drop graft charges against the pastor, Reverend Abraham Choi, a family acquaintance of Kim, who secretly filmed the exchange with a hidden camera and later released the video on a left-wing, anti-Yoon YouTube channel, Yonhap said.