A civic group on Wednesday filed an objection with the state anti-corruption agency over its decision to drop its inquiry into a luxury bag scandal involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy called on the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to reexamine the case, saying many people were outraged at the decision. The luxury bag scandal has come to the fore after a video surfaced last year of the first lady receiving the Dior handbag, valued at around 3 million won (US$2,200), from a Korean American pastor armed with a hidden camera in September 2022. The anti-corruption commission began the inquiry into the scandal after a major civic group filed a complaint against Yoon, the first lady and the pastor in December on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. After nearly six months of deliberation, the commission decided to close the case last week, citing the absence of rules on punishing a public official's spouse. It also claimed th at the luxury bag had no relevance to Yoon's official duties, and a gift from the pastor, who is a foreigner, should be classified as presidential records, thereby carrying no obligation to report on it. However, the civic group countered that the first lady could still be subject to disciplinary measures under relevant law that punishes people for receiving money or interest in return for mediating and facilitating favors related to the duties of a public official. The group also claimed that it is hard to believe that the gift was unrelated to the official duties of the president because the pastor had asked the first lady for favors in return for the gift. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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