South Korea's First Lady quizzed over luxury bag scandal

Seoul, July 21 (IANS) South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee has been questioned over allegations of receiving a Christian Dior handbag and other expensive gifts from a pastor in exchange of favours, and her "involvement" in a stock manipulation case. 

Kim has become the first wife of an incumbent president to be quizzed face-to-face by prosecutors, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said that Kim was questioned face-to-face at an undisclosed government building on Saturday for about 12 hours, ending at around 1.20 a.m. The prosecution said the third place, not its office, was chosen after consultations, due to "security and safety concerns."

The scandal centres on allegations that Kim illegally received the handbag worth about 3 million won (US$2,175) and other expensive gifts from pastor Choi Jae-young in September 2022 allegedly in exchange for favours.

Kim's aide told prosecutors earlier this month that Kim ordered the return of the Dior bag she received as a gift from pastor Choi on the same day it was given, but the aide claimed she forgot to return the handbag because she was too busy with other tasks.

Separately, prosecutors questioned Kim face-to-face for the first time over her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea.

Prosecutors sent a written questionnaire to Kim last year but did not receive the necessary responses.

The stock manipulation case centers on allegations that Kwon Oh-soo, a former head of Deutsch Motors, conspired with influential market players to manipulate the company's stock prices between December 2009 and December 2012.

An appellate court is set to hand out a sentence on Kwon in September, following his suspended prison sentence in a district court.

Kim is believed to deny allegations that she has been involved in the stock manipulation case. Choi Ji-woo, Kim's lawyer, said the first lady "faithfully" answered questions during the investigation.

Before Kim, two former first ladies, Lee Sun-ja and Kwon Yang-sook, were summoned by prosecutors for probes in 2004 and 2009, respectively. But both of them were taken under a prosecutors' probe after their husbands left office.

The presidential office did not issue a statement on the prosecution's probe into Kim, saying that it is inappropriate for it to comment on cases that prosecutors are investigating.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) lashed out at prosecutors for investigating Kim at an undisclosed place, calling it nothing but a "show of summons."

An official at the presidential office rebutted the DP's claim that Kim has received a special favour as "excessive."

--IANS

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