Prosecutor’s Office to Formally Investigate Kim Gun-hee’s Luxury Bag Donation

The prosecution is preparing to formally investigate Kim Gun-hee, the wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, regarding the donation of a luxury bag she received from a pastor. The key issue will be whether the donation is linked to President Yoon’s official duties. The investigation committee, comprised of 15 randomly selected members from a pool of 150-300 civilian experts, will convene next week. The focus will be on whether Kim Gun-hee’s receipt of the Dior bag constituted bribery or violated the Act on the Prohibition of Bribery and the Act on the Attorney’s Act. The prosecution team believes the bag donation was not directly delivered to Kim Gun-hee and was unrelated to President Yoon’s duties. However, the prosecutor’s team will scrutinize the pastor’s statement that he intended to influence Yoon through the donation, and whether he would have donated a higher-priced bag if the intention was truly to bribe. The pastor, Choi Moo-sa, requested the investigation committee, stating that the bag donation was indeed meant to influence Yoon. If the investigation committees, including the one requested by Choi Moo-sa, merge, the prosecution team and Choi Moo-sa may present their arguments regarding the connection to President Yoon’s duties.