South Korea officials shift attention from Dior bag scandal to ex-first lady’s Chanel coat
- The ruling People Power Party says it will investigate the wife of former leader Moon Jae-in for allegedly buying a Chanel jacket with taxpayers’ money
- The move comes as current President Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife faces heat for accepting a US$2,200 Dior bag from a Korean-American pastor in 2022
People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Kang Min-kuk said Kim’s custom-made black and white coat resulted in “a noticeable loss in government funds”.
The PPP boycotted Monday’s gathering.
Another legislator, Lee Jong-bae, accused Kim of retaining the accessory lent by the French luxury fashion brand for her trip to the European nation with Moon.
Lee said earlier this month “no one has actually seen the jacket in question, which officials said was being kept in Chanel headquarters in France”, The Korea Herald reported.
In 2022, Moon’s office said Kim had returned the jacket, of unknown value, to Chanel. The company later “donated” the item to Seoul’s National Hangeul Museum, which displayed it at an exhibition the same year.
Critics, however, pointed out that the outfit was different from the one worn by Kim.
That argument gained credence when Chanel’s South Korean unit revealed that the jacket was returned, but it was not the piece given to the museum, sparking further speculation and intrigue.
Moon insisted his wife never bought clothes with public funds, and also appealed a court ruling ordering him to declare details of the unofficial spending by his family.
South Korea prohibits the spouse of a public official from receiving gifts worth more than 1 million won (US$750) in a single sitting, or items that exceed 3 million won in value over a one-year period. Those who violate the anti-corruption law face a maximum sentence of three years in prison and 30 million won in fines.
The PPP’s corruption salvo at the Democratic Party came as the opposition tightened the screws on Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, demanding the couple apologise over a video in which she was caught receiving a US$2,200 Dior handbag from a Korean-American pastor in 2022.
Kim also faces a string of allegations, including tax evasion and stock-price manipulation.
PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon and several lawmakers have pressed Yoon to clear the air on the bag saga, fearing it could give the opposition an upper hand in April’s general election.
In an effort to project unity, Yoon hosted a lunch for Han on Monday at the presidential office, where the two discussed “ways to improve the people’s livelihoods”.
Local media reported Yoon was still mulling how to respond to the controversies surrounding his wife.
