South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee arrive for a celebration to mark 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
SEOUL (Reuters) - Prosecutors in South Korea have decided not to charge first lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations of inappropriately accepting gifts last year, including a Christian Dior handbag, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Seoul prosecutors' office.
The scandal has caused a political uproar in South Korea and contributed to a bruising election defeat for President Yoon Suk Yeol's ruling party in April.
After a months-long investigation into whether Kim violated anti-corruption laws, prosecutors concluded that although she received the handbag, Chanel beauty products and whisky from a pastor, these gifts did not relate to her official duties and no favours were given in return, Yonhap said, citing the prosecutors' office.
Calls to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office went unanswered. Yoon's office said it had no immediate comment.
Prosecutors also decided to drop graft charges against the pastor, Rev. Abraham Choi, a family acquaintance of Kim, who secretly filmed the exchange with a hidden camera and later released the video on a left-wing, anti-Yoon YouTube channel, Yonhap said.
Choi had told reporters, when he appeared for questioning by prosecutors, that he asked for several favours when he handed the gifts to Kim. However, prosecutors dismissed this, saying the interactions were personal, according to Yonhap.
Choi could not be immediately reached for comment.
Opposition lawmakers have called for a special counsel investigation into the case and allegations of other irregularities involving the first lady. The opposition-controlled parliament passed a bill on a probe last month, which was vetoed by Yoon.
Yoon has described the scandal as a political manoeuvre, but later apologised for causing public concerns due to what he called his wife's "unwise behaviour" and promised to improve rules to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Ed Davies and Jacqueline Wong)
