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S. Korea First Lady in hot water over 'Dior bag scandal'

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Reuters

Many South Koreans believe the country’s First Lady Kim Keon Hee bears responsibility over ‘Dior bag scandal’ as she accepted a Dior bag as a gift that was filmed by a hidden camera.Some pointed out, as the spouse of a government official, accepted the purse, which had a price tag of 3 million won ($2,250), she may have violated an anti-bribery law.“It is illegal if you are treated with a free lunch, over worth just a few dozens of U.S. dollars, because of the Kim Young-ran Act (anti-bribery act). In my opinion, the first lady should not be treated differently. She should be treated the same (with others) In that sense, I don’t think she shouldn’t have received any gifts,” said 82-year-old Jang Jung-hwan on Thursday (January 25).The president&#x27;s supporters say Kim is the victim of an illegal plot to set her up and a smear campaign, but some disagreed.“Rather than questioning about the injustice of using hidden cameras and social sentiment around it, I think we should focus a little more on the fact that it can be a bribery charge,” said 34-year-old South Korean resident who only identified himself by his surname Jung.In a poll by the financial publication News Tomato in December showed 53% of respondents believe Kim acted inappropriately, while 27% said she was caught in a trap set up to embarrass her.In another poll released by YTN cable news conducted this week, 69% of respondents said Yoon needs to explain his position regarding the controversy around the first lady.Yoon&#x27;s office said it had no information to share, but Yoon is expected to explain about the incident in coming weeks according to media reports.The case surfaced in November when a YouTube channel aired a video clip secretly recorded by a Korean American pastor with a hidden camera as he visited Kim and handed her the handbag.The pastor, Rev. Abraham Choi, who has been involved in religious exchanges with North Korea and is an advocate of engagement with Pyongyang, said he initially sought a meeting with Kim out of concern for Yoon&#x27;s hardline North Korea policy.After a first meeting, Choi said he became concerned about Kim&#x27;s role in the administration and worked with a reporter at the YouTube channel, which airs left-wing news and commentary, to film her accepting the pricey bag during a second visit.Yoon&#x27;s office said it had no information to provide when asked about Choi&#x27;s claims.In 2021, Kim made a public apology after months of allegations of falsified professional record and plagiarism in her Ph.D. thesis overshadowed Yoon&#x27;s campaign for president.Tension between Yoon&#x27;s office and his party boiled over last week when a member of its leadership, Kim Kyung-yul, likened the situation to the notoriety of Marie Antoinette, the French Queen known for her profligacy.Local news reports said Yoon was livid and wanted to remove the party&#x27;s leader, Han Dong-hoon, marking at least a brief split between the president and an official widely seen as a protégé and close associate.However, Yoon and Han visited a traditional market where was damaged by fire on Tuesday (January 23), apparently seeking to restore their relationship, which was slammed by opposition party as ‘political show.’<div>(Production: Daewoung Kim, Jimin Jung, Minwoo Park, Heejung Jung)</div>

Many South Koreans believe the country’s First Lady Kim Keon Hee bears responsibility over ‘Dior bag scandal’ as she accepted a Dior bag as a gift that was filmed by a hidden camera.