"Counterfeit Purchased in 2010" Claim Directly Challenged
Seohi Construction Chairman Submits Confession to Special Counsel
Detention Decision for Kim Gunhee Expected as Early as Tonight
Kim Geonhee is seated wearing the now-controversial 'Van Cleef & Arpels' necklace at the 2022 NATO summit dinner. Photo by Yonhap News
Lee Bonggwan, Chairman of Seohui Construction, has submitted a written confession to the special prosecutor's team investigating Kim Gunhee, stating that he purchased the Van Cleef necklace and gave it to Kim. Kim's side has claimed that the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace she wore during her visit to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a counterfeit purchased in Hong Kong in 2010. However, with Lee's statement directly contradicting this claim, the possibility of Kim's detention has increased.
At a regular briefing on August 12, Special Prosecutor Oh Jeonghee stated, "Seohui Construction has submitted a confession acknowledging that it provided the necklace worn by Kim during former President Yoon Seokyeol and his wife's NATO trip." Oh added, "The special prosecutor's team has voluntarily received and seized the genuine necklace, which Seohui Construction gave to Kim and later retrieved. During the pretrial detention hearing, we explained how we secured the necklace and presented both the counterfeit and the genuine item as evidence in court."
Oh also stated, "During the search and seizure of Kim's brother, Kim Jinwoo, we discovered a warranty certificate for a Vacheron Constantin watch. In connection with this, we are investigating Person A, a contractor for the presidential office's robotics dog project, on suspicion of receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes."
With Lee submitting his confession, suspicions have grown that the necklace Kim wore during the NATO trip in June 2022 was the genuine article given by Lee, and that the counterfeit seized from the home of Kim's brother's mother-in-law was swapped for the original.
Kim Gunhee, wife of former President Yoon Seokyeol, who is accused of violating the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Receiving Bribes), is attending a pretrial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of August 12, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Previously, the special prosecutor's team had secured a necklace of the same design as the one Kim wore during the NATO trip, after searching the home of Kim's brother's mother-in-law. Kim's side acknowledged that this was the necklace worn during the NATO trip but insisted it was a counterfeit purchased in Hong Kong in 2010, not the genuine article. They explained that, since it was a counterfeit worth only about 2 million won, it was not subject to disclosure as a public official's asset.
However, it has come to light that Van Cleef & Arpels only began releasing the Snowflake Pendant model in 2015, making it impossible for a counterfeit of the same design to exist in 2010.
The special prosecutor's team plans to investigate whether any requests or favors were exchanged, based on Lee's confession that he gave the necklace to Kim. They suspect that, in return for the necklace, Lee's eldest son-in-law, former prosecutor Park Seonggeun, may have sought to be appointed as chief secretary to the Prime Minister's Office in June of the same year.
The pretrial detention hearing for Kim, which began at around 10:10 a.m. that day, concluded after four hours. A decision on whether to detain Kim is expected as early as tonight.
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