Former First Lady Accused of Accepting Luxury Gifts for Favors
This doesn’t look good for Kim Keon-hee if this true when combined with the prior handbag from hell allegations:
In 2022, during a Korean community dinner in Madrid, where she accompanied the former president on his NATO-related travels, Kim wore a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace valued at over 60 million won ($43,300) that was absent from her official asset disclosure. At the time, the presidential office said it had been “borrowed from an acquaintance.”
However, in May, Kim submitted a written statement to prosecutors claiming it was a replica and therefore not subject to disclosure under the public official asset reporting rules.
That alibi unraveled this month when Seohee Construction Chairman Lee Bong-kwan confessed to giving her the necklace in exchange for helping his son-in-law find a job in the Yoon administration.
Last month, the special counsel found a replica of the same model at the home of Kim’s elder brother’s mother-in-law. Prosecutors later brought both the genuine necklace — recovered from Seohee Construction — and the replica into court, using the contrast to challenge Kim’s account. They argued that the presence of the fake suggested a deliberate attempt to mislead investigators, a charge her defense has so far been unable to disprove. (…….)
Investigators also found a Vacheron Constantin watch box and an authenticity certificate during a search last month. The special counsel suspects the watch came from a businessman surnamed Seo, a major donor to Yoon, whose robotics firm later won a contract with the Presidential Security Service to provide a robot dog for patrol and surveillance. They are examining possible links between the gift and that deal.
Seo reportedly told prosecutors he met Kim in 2022 and bought her the watch after she expressed interest, claiming he could get it at a discount as a VIP and that she reimbursed him in cash.
You can read more at the link.
