Mrs. Kim Geon-hee's Side: "Order to Return Dior Bag, Claim of Scapegoating Is Nonsense"

Issued a Statement on the 16th: "No Reason to Give False Explanations... Actively Cooperating with Investigation"

The side of First Lady Kim Geon-hee, who is suspected of receiving a luxury bag, confirmed that it is true they issued a return order regarding the luxury bag receipt suspicion and stated that the term "scapegoating" is groundless.

On the 16th, Kim’s legal representative said in a statement distributed to the media, "We ask that excessive speculative articles or malicious reports be refrained from."

First Lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol. [Image source=Yonhap News]

After it became known that Administrative Officer Yoo Mo testified during the prosecution investigation that Pastor Choi Jae-young gave a luxury bag as a gift and that on the same day, he received an order from First Lady Kim to return it but forgot to do so, opposition parties criticized this as scapegoating, prompting an official statement.

Kim’s side explained, "The First Lady instructed Administrative Officer Yoo, 'If you return it immediately, it might cause offense, so please return it later in a way that does not upset anyone.'" They added, "Therefore, the packaging was not discarded and has been kept intact." They continued, "Currently, the Dior bag has not been used at all and is being kept as is," adding, "This proves that there was no intention to use it and that there was an intention to return it."

Kim’s side stated, "'Scapegoating' means shifting responsibility to others to avoid accountability, but this case does not involve criminal punishment regulations, so responsibility cannot be shifted to anyone," and said, "The term scapegoating is groundless." They also said, "Avoiding moral criticism is only possible at the early stages of the case," and "Despite receiving considerable moral criticism, there has been no explanation or excuse, so there is no reason to make false explanations now."

Kim’s side emphasized, "For reference, the exclusive article about the return order was not a clarification article requested by the legal team," and "The legal team remained silent on contentious issues and has only disclosed matters that can be proven with evidence to the media so far." They added, "We have actively cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so in the future."