Kim Keon-hee, the disturbing first lady dubbed ‘Marie Antoinette’ by South Korea

The political crisis in South Korea is at its peak. At the end of a new operation by investigators and police, ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested this Wednesday, January 15, at his villa on a hill in the heart of Seoul, the 64-year-old head of state risks his mandate until December 3. to introduce a brief martial law. If it was mainly his coup that led to his downfall, Yoon Suk-yeol’s reputation was also tarnished by a series of scandals, starting with the Halloween stampede in Seoul in October 2022 that claimed more than 150 lives On Kim Keon Hee, his wife of 52 years.

“Dior bag scandal”.

Everything starts in September 2022. Using the camera hidden in his watch, Pastor Choi Jae Young films himself buying a Dior handbag. The price indicated on the receipt: 2000 euros. Then the religious goes to the office of the first lady, whose favors he has won for several months, asks for an audience, obtains it and offers the famous luxury bag bought a while ago. “Please don’t buy such expensive things,” he whispers, surprised but seemingly accepting the gift. In November 2023, more than a year after the events, the hidden camera images were released. They were posted on the YouTube channel “Voice of Seoul,” which is known for its opposition to conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol. Purposeful? Prove that the first lady is easily corrupt.

To justify his action, Pastor Choi Jae-young also said he was worried about the influence of Kim Keon-hee in the president’s cabinet. In a press conference cited by AFP, he even claimed to have heard the decision on the appointment of a high-ranking official during a phone call. The pastor still assures that this is not the first time that Kim Keon Hee has received something from him. He would give her a $1,300 Chanel cosmetic box in June 2022. Except that in South Korea, accepting gifts worth more than $750 (€725) is prohibited for any government official or their spouse. The “scandal of Dior bags” was born.

The case immediately caused President Yoon Suk-yeol’s already low popularity to sink. But above all, it raised the voice of protest within his party, which hoped to regain a majority in the National Assembly in April 2024 if the first lady did not step down. radio silence), then the South Korean presidency is forced to defend itself. He denies any offense and considers that “the bag is a gift to the state, not to the first lady, which is not within the scope of the legislation”, we read. THE: Point .

Korea’s Marie Antoinette?

The “Dior bag scandal” is getting bigger as Kim Keon-hee has been the subject of comparisons to Queen Marie-Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI. Blame it on her sense of style… sharp. First ladies for now [de Corée du Sud] had an elegant, modest and modest outfit,” analyzes Kang Jin-joo, director of the Personal Image Clinic, who was an image advisor to former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in 2007-2008. Korea Times . “Kim embodies the image of an elegant, sophisticated, independent and professional woman.”

It is true that Kim Keon Hee is not really a first lady like the others. After studying art, in 2007 he founded the company Kobana Contents, which specializes in organizing art exhibitions. Over the years, it has hosted lists of works by important international artists, including Andy Warhol (2009), Marc Chagall (2010), Mark Rothko (2015), Le Corbusier (2016) and Alberto Giacometti (2018). Artnet News: who met her in June 2023. At Kobana Contents, Kim Keon-hee serves as general manager until her husband’s election in 2022.

Influential and scandalous

Kim Keon-hee put her career on hold, then established herself as a whisperer in the president’s ear. Yoon Suk Yeol took action and passed the law in parliament a year ago. “Even though he is always busy, he is always kind to me,” Kim Keon Hee stresses every day. Korea JoongAng Daily About her husband in March 2022. “When we first started dating, my husband felt sorry for me because I was so busy with my work that I didn’t take time to eat properly. When we got married, he made me this promise. “I will prepare my whole life for you.” Ten years later, it still is.” The couple said “I do” in March 2012.

But Kim Keon Hee ended up being the thorn in Yoon Suk Yeol’s side. His name has been involved in various controversies. Then, during her husband’s presidential campaign in 2021, she had to apologize for inflating her CV. A few weeks later, one of his conversations with a journalist was leaked. ten minutes of exchanges, during which she shamelessly criticized her husband, an “idiot” who “can’t do anything without me”. However, she also admits that she will not hesitate to “imprison all journalists” who criticize her husband if he comes to power.

But that’s not all: Choi Yoon-soon, the first lady’s mother, was convicted in November 2023 after using a fake bank certificate to buy land in Seongnam, south of Seoul, in 2013 in engaging in a stock market manipulation operation prior to her husband’s election.A case where the president used his veto to override his the trial against the woman in December 2023. But after that the situation has changed. Yoon Suk Yeol has plunged his country into political chaos, and his arrest this Wednesday will not help “Madame Kim’s” cause.