Prosecutors drop charges against South Korea’s First Lady over Dior bag, gifts, Yonhap reports

SEOUL – Prosecutors in South Korea decided not to charge South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife Kim Keon-hee over

allegations of inappropriately accepting gifts

, including a Christian Dior bag, in 2023, the Yonhap news agency reported on Oct 2.

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

After a months-long investigation into whether Ms 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 Seoul prosecutors’ office.

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

Prosecutors also decided to drop graft charges against the pastor, Reverend Abraham Choi, a family acquaintance of Ms 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.

Mr Choi had told reporters, when he appeared for questioning by prosecutors, that he asked for several favours when he handed the gifts to Ms Kim. However, prosecutors dismissed this, saying the interactions were personal, according to Yonhap.

Mr Choi could not be immediately reached for comment.

Opposition lawmakers have called for a special counsel investigation into the case and allegations of other irregularities involving Ms Kim. The opposition-controlled Parliament passed a Bill on a probe in September, which was vetoed by Mr Yoon.

Mr Yoon has described the scandal as a political manoeuvre, but later apologised for causing public concerns due to what he called his wife’s “unwise behaviour” and promised to improve rules to ensure such incidents do not happen again. REUTERS