'Dior bag scandal' lands South Korea's Yoon, ruling party in disarray ahead of election

SEOUL — Hidden camera footage appearing to show South Korea's First Lady accepting a Dior bag as a gift has plunged President Yoon Suk-yeol and his party into a controversy that may threaten their bid to reclaim a parliamentary majority in April's election.

Some members of Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) have urged the president and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, to apologise for the incident dubbed by local media "Dior bag scandal" and admit receiving the purse was, at least, inappropriate, in the hope of putting the matter to rest.

Yoon's office said it had no information to share.

By opting to remain silent and, at the weekend, pushing for the party leader to resign due to a disagreement over some members' stance, Yoon risks creating a flash point that could end up costing PPP the April 10 election, analysts say.

"It is a political bombshell," said Rhee Jong-hoon, a political analyst. "The Kim Keon-hee risks are only going to get bigger."

Yoon won a close election in 2022 but his PPP is a minority in the parliament, which is controlled by the rival Democratic Party.

Analysts said when Kim, as the spouse of a government official, accepted the purse, which had a price tag of three million won (S$3,003), she may have violated an anti-bribery law.

The president's supporters say Kim is the victim of an illegal plot to set her up and a smear campaign.

The case surfaced in November when a YouTube channel aired a video clip secretly recorded by a Korean American pastor with a hidden camera as he visited Kim and handed her the handbag.

The pastor, Rev. Abraham Choi, who has been involved in religious exchanges with North Korea and is an advocate of engagement with Pyongyang, said he initially sought a meeting with Kim