Ahead of polls in South Korea, 'Dior bag scandal' threatens prospects of ruling party

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his party has been caught in a controversy after the surfacing of hidden camera footage which appears to show the country's first lady accepting a handbag worth USD 2,250 by luxury brand Dior, reported The Strait Times.

Yoon won the election in 2022 but his conservative People Power Party PPP, is a minority in the country's parliament, where rival Democratic Party currently holds the majority of seats.

The development comes ahead of Parliamentary elections in the country in April and the incident is seen as dampening the prospects of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP).

A video of the South Korean President's wife First Lady Kim Keon-hee, supposedly accepting a Christian Dior handbag, allegedly during a meeting with a pastor in September 2022.

The incident triggered comparisons to the infamous French queen Marie Antoinette who was unpopular for her excesses and executed during the French Revolution.

Recently, in India West Bengal politician Mahua Moitra was expelled from the membership of Lok Sabha after the lower House of Parliament adopted the report of its ethics committee, which found her guilty of "unethical conduct" in a 'cash-for query' case.

Among the allegations levelled against her were that the former MP had accepted gifts including expensive shoes, and handbags among other items as favours to raise questions in Parliament.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, pressure on the president, reported Strait Times is set to grow after a public rift between him and his party's leader, Han Dong-hoon, was fuelled by the 'Dior bag' controversy.

Han is known to be one of Yoon's closest advisers and confidants.

In 2023 as justice minister, he sided with Yoon in opposing a bill proposed by the opposition, which was eventually vetoed by the President, to launch a special investigation into First Lady Kim Keon-hee's alleged involvement in stock manipulation.

An opinion poll in December showed 53 per cent of respondents believed she had acted inappropriately, The Strait Times reported.

Finally, Han admitted on January 18 during a party policy event that the 'Dior bag controversy' is "a matter of public concern".

Han noted that the situation was "a planned set-up using a spy cam", but said there were "several misdeeds in handling the issue," referring to the PPP's silence for nearly 50 days after the controversy broke in November.

On January 19, a presidential official told reporters that "gifts given to the President or First Lady are not accepted by them personally. According to the relevant rules, the gifts are managed and stored by the state."

As per The Strait Times, the President is said to have ordered the resignation of Han over the weekend, after the latter said the party and the presidential office could have better handled the controversy surrounding Yoon's spouse for accepting a Dior handbag from a pastor.

Han is widely regarded as PPP's ticket to success in the legislative elections and is tipped to be a presidential candidate in 2027.

On January 21, the presidential office announced that Yoon had withdrawn his support for Han as party chief, effectively requesting his resignation.

Han rejected the call for his resignation, telling reporters that his work would be done only after the elections. "The path that I've decided on is to walk for the people, so I will do my job," he said. The public rift saw party members split into two camps.

However, both the leaders appeared to have patched up their animosity Dong-hoon greeted President Yoon with a 90-degree deep bow during a visit to a market on January 23.