South Korea prosecution investigation team dismisses first lady Kim Keon-hee’s anti-graft charges News
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South Korea prosecution investigation team dismisses first lady Kim Keon-hee’s anti-graft charges

A South Korean prosecution investigation team dismissed anti-graft charges against first lady Kim Keon-hee on Wednesday, according to local media. Kim was previously investigated by South Korean prosecutors for accepting an approximately three million won ($2,255) luxury Dior handbag and other expensive gifts from Choi Jae-young, a Korean-American pastor, in 2022.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that the anti-graft charges could not be pursued against Kim in connection with her acceptance of the handbag and other expensive gifts. The investigation team allegedly viewed the handbag as an expression of gratitude and said that it was not associated with Choi’s requests to Kim, which included allowing the future burial of former Korean-American US House Representative Jay Chang-joon Kim in a national cemetery. The investigation team also said that Kim was unaware of Choi’s requests as they were not conveyed to her. In addition, the investigation team said South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was not obliged to report the gifts as they were irrelevant to his duties.

The opposition Democratic Party of Korea disagreed with the prosecution investigation team’s decision and urged the ruling People Power Party to appoint a special prosecutor to review the investigation. Member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Jeon Hyun-hee said Yoon breached the country’s anti-graft law by not reporting and returning Kim’s luxury gifts and that the team’s decision to dismiss Kim’s charges was legally incoherent. In addition, senior spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea Cho Seung-rae disagreed that the handbag was merely an expression of gratitude.

While South Korea’s Improper Solicitation and Graft Act does not stipulate punishments for officials’ spouses, the act stipulates that officials are obliged to immediately report presents their spouses accept. The prosecutors decided not to charge Kim with accepting a bribe for mediation or violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.

The prosecutor general will either approve the investigation team’s decision or review their decision by convening an investigation review committee after the investigation team submits their decision.

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