South Korean ruling party piles pressure on first lady Kim Keon-hee to apologise for accepting Dior handbag from pastor

A video of Kim receiving the handbag from a Korean-American pastor in 2022 has resurfaced, prompting growing calls for her to break silence on the controversy

Several lawmakers demanded President Yoon’s wife apologise to the public to limit the fallout of the issue affecting the party in April’s general elections

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol with his wife Kim Keon-hee in Seoul. Photo: Yonhap via AP

Published: 11:35am, 20 Jan 2024

Critical voices are growing within the South Korean ruling People Power Party (PPP) over controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee, including video footage of her receiving a Dior handbag from a Korean-American pastor in 2022.

Their demands are interpreted as the PPP’s appeal to the public before the general elections in April, given the negative public sentiment over the presidential couple’s silence on the controversies. Amid the growing calls, the presidential office is contemplating whether President Yoon Suk-yeol should hold a press conference for New Year or not.

During a policy event on Thursday, PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon told reporters that the first lady’s handbag controversy “can be a matter of public concern.”

“Basically, the matter was a planned set-up using a spy cam,” Han said. “However, there were several misdeeds in handling the issues.”

Voice of Seoul, a liberal YouTube-based news channel, claimed in November that the first lady had been gifted the Christian Dior handbag valued at around 3 million won (US$2,240) from the pastor in September 2022 and released video footage of the scene. The video was filmed secretly by the pastor using a camera disguised as a watch and the bag was reportedly provided by the YouTube channel.

The controversy resurfaced after a number of newcomers to the ruling party voiced their critical opinions on the bag issue. They also spoke up about Kim’s alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scandal, for which a special counsel investigation was approved by the National Assembly but vetoed by Yoon.