South Korea’s Yoon faces pressure to apologise over wife’s Dior bag scandal as polls loom
- First lady Kim Keon-hee was filmed accepting a luxury bag when the spouses of officials are barred from receiving gifts worth above US$750 in a single sitting
- Officials from the ruling party accuse the US pastor who gave her the bag of entrapment, but analysts say Yoon may just have to bite the bullet amid public anger
The episode came to light after a video emerged online showing Kim Keon-hee receiving a US$2,200 Dior handbag by a US pastor, who said he had secretly filmed the incident to prove that she was corrupt.
Yoon has been hoping the storm would blow over but observers say he can no longer afford to ignore the issue, which comes on the back of rising voter frustration over the poor economy.
“This is the first time the first lady has been caught on camera accepting a luxury gift amid rampant allegations about her wrongdoing,” said Choi Jin, head of the think tank Institute of Presidential Leadership in Seoul.
Kim issued a public apology in 2021 for inflating her academic credentials and job resume when her husband was on a campaign trail. She has also been dogged by allegations of tax evasion, stock price manipulation and consulting fortune-tellers.
“This is a bitter pill to swallow for President Yoon, but he would have no alternatives but to publicly apologise over the incident which has riled up the people,” Choi added.
In an opinion poll published by YTN TV on Wednesday, 69 per cent of 1,000 respondents agreed that Yoon should clarify his position on issues surrounding his wife.