Dior bag in first lady's scandal stored by presidential office: official

The controversial luxury Christian Dior bag at the center of the antigraft law violation scandal involving the first lady is currently being managed and stored by the presidential office, an official said Monday.

“To my knowledge, the Dior bag that was received by first lady Kim Keon Hee is currently stored in the presidential office building in the state that it was first gifted to her,” presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-seok told a parliamentary hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul.

Chung implied that the bag, valued at 3 million won ($2,200), has been unused and untouched by Kim since it was allegedly gifted to her by Korean American Pastor Choi Jae-young in September 2022.

On the request by a main opposition party lawmaker to inspect the archives, Chung responded that such a move requires “legal steps” beforehand, as the presidential office is a restricted area with heavy security.

He stressed that all gifts received by the president and his spouse are categorized as part of the presidential archives, but the bag has yet to be included in the archives.

In November last year, Voice of Seoul, a local online news outlet, uploaded spy cam footage provided by Choi showing him handing the Dior bag to Kim. The footage generated an uproar, becoming a major issue affecting voter sentiment ahead of the April 10 general election this year.

Article 8 of the Improper Solicitation And Graft Act forbids public officials and their spouses from receiving gifts worth more than 1 million won at a time, or a total of 3 million won within a fiscal year from the same person.

Currently, Choi is being grilled by both the police and the prosecution on separate charges related to the Dior bag scandal.

The charges against Choi include trespassing, secretly filming and publishing a video of his encounter with the first lady and making illegal requests in exchange for the gift.