'Community' Takes Action Against Fake News Spread
Purchased at Own Expense but... "No Reason to Disclose"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Blue House has stepped in to quell the controversy surrounding First Lady Kim Jung-sook's clothing purchase expenses, which sparked debate primarily on online communities, stating that the items were "purchased with personal funds." However, they maintain that there is no reason to disclose the details since the purchases were made privately.
On the 29th, Shin Hye-hyun, Deputy Spokesperson of the Blue House, said in a briefing, "There have been baseless claims regarding the use of special activity funds for First Lady Kim Jung-sook's official event attire, but these are completely untrue."
Deputy Spokesperson Shin added, "During the term, no national budget such as special activity funds has been allocated or used for clothing purchases as the president's spouse, and all expenses have been borne personally. Attire provided for scheduled overseas visits and international events was either donated or returned."
She further pointed out, "We regret the indiscriminate and inaccurate claims made under the pretext that the Blue House's special activity funds cannot be specifically disclosed due to reasons related to defense, diplomacy, and security."
Regarding protocol expenses for external activities such as overseas visits, she explained that some budget support is provided as 'event auxiliary costs.' Deputy Spokesperson Shin stated, "For official activities such as inter-state summits, state visits abroad, and events hosting foreign dignitaries, protocol expenses for the head of state and the first lady's external activities are partially supported under strict internal procedures at the minimum necessary level as event auxiliary costs."
The Blue House's unusual clarification appears to be aimed at preventing the indiscriminate spread of fake news. A Blue House official explained, "Since last week, false fake news related to the First Lady's brooch has been circulating on communities, and even in this morning's newspapers, untrue information was reported as if it were true, so we wanted to clarify the facts accurately."
This referred to the widespread rumor in online communities that the brooch worn by the First Lady was a luxury brand item worth around 200 million won. When asked by reporters whether the brooch was genuine or counterfeit, the official said, "The brand itself has confirmed that it is not a specific product brooch," adding, "We cannot consider that all leopard-shaped brooches are replicas or counterfeits of a particular product."
The Blue House emphasized that except for a very few cases, all clothing worn at events was purchased with personal funds. A Blue House official said, "For example, at the 2021 P4G event hosted by the Ministry of Environment, a hanbok made from recycled PET bottles was created in line with the event's purpose, and the First Lady wore that hanbok during the event. In that case, the organizer produced it," adding, "Otherwise, the clothing was either personally purchased or altered."
They also explained that during the 2018 state visit to France, a luxury brand lent the First Lady a garment embroidered with Hangul, which was returned afterward, and the brand later donated it to the National Hangeul Museum. Apart from such rare exceptions, all expenses were borne personally.
Nevertheless, the Blue House did not disclose the details of the personal purchases. A Blue House official firmly stated, "There is no reason to disclose the details of expenses borne personally." When asked whether clothing is included in the budget partially supported for protocol expenses, the answer was, "It is not included."
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