South Korea's first lady, Kim Keon-hee, arrives at the White House in Washington in April last year
At the time, South Korea's president was grappling with a slowing economy, stampedes that killed hundreds of people, and the nuclear threat from a belligerent neighbor. Then came a more personal scandal: Hidden camera footage showed his wife accepting a $2,200 (15,800 yuan) Dior handbag as a gift.
The incident quickly escalated into one of the biggest political crises facing South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. While he has left his mark on foreign policy by aligning South Korea more closely with the United States and Japan, it has been controversial at home, much involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
The video of Mr. Kim, which appeared late last year, has sparked disagreements between Mr. Yoon and one of his most trusted deputies, as well as turmoil within his party, where a senior member of the party demanded an apology and compared him to Marie Antoinette. Opinion polls show that this has become an important issue ahead of a crucial parliamentary election at a time when the political climate is becoming increasingly polarised.
For nearly two years, Mr. Kim has been challenging this entrenched patriarchal society's perception of the role of the president's wife. In contrast to her former first husbands, who had stayed in the shadow of her husbands, Kim Keon-hee reveled in media attention and even publicly pushed for the Yoon Suk-yeol government to ban the breeding and slaughter of dogs for food. When talking about how her husband cares for herself, Kim Keon-hee said in 2022 that Yoon Suk-yeol promised to cook for her before marriage and "has kept that promise for the past ten years."
But Ms. Kim has also been a frequent source of controversy, with critics saying her sometimes practices highlight her undue influence over the government.
During Yoon Suk-yeol's 2021 presidential campaign, Mr. Kim, a former prosecutor, apologized for inflating his resume to promote his art exhibition business. Later, her conversation with a reporter was made public, in which the reporter secretly recorded a conversation in which Kim hinted that she was deeply involved in her husband's campaign. She called Yoon Suk-yeol a "fool" and "can't do anything without me." She also declared that "if I were in power", there would be retaliation against unfriendly media.
Kim Keon-hee, wife of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, at the 14th Gwangju Biennale in 2023
Kim also faces charges that she was involved in a stock price manipulation scheme before Yoon Suk-yeol was elected. Last December, the opposition-controlled South Korean parliament passed a bill that would authorize a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations. Mr. Yoon, 63, and Mr. Kim, 51, both denied the allegations, and Mr. Yoon vetoed the bill.
Yoon Suk-yeol said that his "happiest memory" was marrying Kim Keon-hee in 2012. And he has not been able to escape the influence of that video of the Dior handbag.
The video was filmed in September 2022 by a Korean-American pastor named Choi Jae-young with a camera hidden in his watch. More than a year later, the video was first reported by a left-wing YouTube channel called "Voice of Seoul," which also made public recordings of Mr. Kim's conversations with reporters.
The video shows Mr. Choi visiting Kim in his private office outside the presidential palace and presenting her with gifts.
"Why do you keep bringing these things?" Mr. Kim said in the video. "Please don't do it again. ”
Mr. Choe has advocated friendly relations between the two Koreas, but Yoon has taken a more belligerent stance toward North Korea. Mr. Choi said he met Kim Keon-hee during Yoon's presidential campaign and received an invitation to attend Yoon's inauguration in May 2022. A month later, as a token of appreciation, he visited Mr. Kim in his office, and he said he had given Mr. Kim a $1,300 Chanel makeup gift set.
Mr. Choi said he overheard a conversation during that meeting that gave him the impression that Mr. Kim appeared to have played a role in the appointment of a senior government official. He said he made the decision to "expose" Kim at that time. The Voice of Seoul reporter provided him with a hidden camera and a cloud-blue calfskin Dior handbag, and Mr. Choi sent a photo of the Dior handbag to Kim Keon-hee and asked to see her again.
Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee at a guide dog school in Yongin, South Korea. Kim Keon-hee pushed through the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's legislation banning the raising and slaughtering of dogs for human consumption
Mr. Choi said that while he had repeatedly asked the first lady to meet, he had only been granted permission twice, and both after he had told Mr. Kim in advance that he would be carrying expensive gifts. Even if there is no potential conflict of interest, South Korean government officials and their spouses are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than $750.
"The gift was a ticket to see her," Mr. Choi said.
In the video, Kim also expressed her desire to "actively participate in inter-Korean relations," raising concerns about her usurped role as the president's wife.
As the scandal spread rapidly, Kim has not been seen in public for a month and a half. Asked what the president and Kim Keon-hee had to say on the matter, Yoon's office said it had "nothing to share."
Since his apology in 2021, Mr. Kim has not publicly commented on the various allegations against him. She said at the time that if Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president, she would "stick to the role of wife." But in a rare interview (conducted by Artnet News last year), Kim signaled that she wanted to change her ways, saying she wanted to be a "salesman of Korean culture" and support Yoon Suk-yeol and his government in "cultural diplomacy."
In a conversation recorded between Mr. Choi and the Voice of Seoul, Mr. Kim appeared to deny the allegations of misconduct and described the allegations as political smearing.
Some officials in Yoon's National Power Party accused Mr. Choi of setting a "trap" for Kim and deliberately timing the release of the video to influence the parliamentary election in April. They also said that Mr. Kim had not used the handbag, which was currently stored in a storage vault in the presidential palace.
Most South Koreans said in the polls that it was inappropriate for Kim to accept the handbag and said they wanted Yoon Suk-yeol to investigate the matter and give an explanation.
"It's an explosive question" because it reminds South Koreans of the recurring corruption that has disgraced the country's former presidents, said Ahn Byung-jin, a political scientist at Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus.
Some members of Yoon's party have demanded that Kim apologize for controlling the damage. The opposition accuses Kim of abusing power for personal gain and "manipulating government affairs." They also said Mr. Yoon was overprotective of his wife, in stark contrast to his administration's aggressive efforts to make corruption charges against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.
Yoon Suk-yeol has also been rebuked by his allies in the media.
"Conservatives in this country can no longer afford the 'Kim Keon-hee risk,'" wrote a columnist for the conservative daily Dong-A Ilbo.
Kim Ki-hyun, chairman of the National Power Party Committee, stepped down under growing pressure. Yoon Suk-yeol appointed his close ally Han Dong-hoon as chairman of the Emergency Countermeasures Committee. But Mr. Han also appeared to be critical of the government's handling of the scandal, with a senior official he appointed later likening Mr. Kim to Marie Antoinette, a claim that resonated widely with the public.
Han Dong-hoon, a close ally of President Yoon Suk-yeol, was appointed leader of their party last December
Yoon Suk-yeol then demanded Mr. Han's resignation, but the two appeared to have reluctantly agreed to suspend the altercation last week, according to local media reports.
Political analysts say the handling of the scandal shows how much influence Kim has in the Yoon Suk-yeol presidential office. Political scientist Ahn Byung-jin said that's why South Koreans joke that "there are two dignitaries in Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential palace, and the number one dignitary is Kim Keon-hee." ”