How ‘Dior bag’ scandal involving South Korea’s First Lady may impact polls

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has landed in a fix as a scandal concerning his wife, Kim Keon Hee, has put his conservative People Power Party (PPP) in disarray. The scandal comes months before the April 10 elections and could potentially threaten Yoon’s bid to reclaim a parliamentary majority.

Keon Hee, South Korea’s First Lady, is accused of accepting an expensive gift from a Korean American pastor, Rev Abraham Choi, which violates Korea’s anti-bribery law, news agency Reuters reported.

Dubbed the ‘Dior Bag Scandal’ by the local media, Kim Keon was secretly filmed by the pastor while accepting a purse, worth 3 million won (2, 250 US Dollars).

The case surfaced in November last year when a private YouTube channel aired the video clip which was secretly recorded by the pastor.

South Korea has a very strict anti-bribery law, and it is illegal to accept gifts worth 750 US Dollars at once or 2,200 US Dollars per year.

BIG WORRY FOR PRESIDENT YOON

The controversy has snowballed into a big crisis for President Yoon, whose party PPP, is a minority in the Parliament, faces the fear of defeat in the April 10 elections.

Yoon’s PPP won a close election in 2022, but is still a minority in the Parliament controlled by the rival Democratic party.

In a poll released by YTN cable news this week, 69 per cent of respondents said Yoon needs to explain his position regarding the controversy around the First Lady.

“The general public thinks, ‘Okay, it may be a trap, but why did she take it (the bag) anyway?'” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

Some party members have urged the President and his wife to admit receiving the purse and apologize for the incident, to put the matter to rest.

According to analysts, opting to remain silent over it and instead pushing a party leader to resign due to some disagreement might cost the PPP, the April 10 elections.

“It is a political bombshell. The Kim Keon Hee risks are only going to get bigger,” said Rhee Jong-hoon, a political analyst.

FIRST MEETING WITH KEON

An unnamed presidential official told Yonhap news agency last week that Choi had deliberately approached Kim intending to illegally film using his family connections.

Choi said that though Kim was a family acquaintance, her response to discussions over luxury gifts in their first meeting led him to believe that such gifts were the only way to secure an audience.

“You might say they were like an entry pass, a ticket for a meeting (with Kim),” Choi told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Choi said that he became concerned after the meeting with Kim and worked with a reporter at a YouTube channel to film her accepting the pricey bag during the second visit.

Yoon’s office said it had no information to provide when asked about Choi’s claims.