South Korea’s former first lady has admitted to receiving two Chanel handbags from a shaman in 2022, marking the first such admission in a bribery scandal that led to her arrest.
Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached president Yook Suk Yeol, was arrested in August on charges including bribery and stock manipulation. It is alleged that she took bribes to help the unification church gain business favours following her husband’s election in March 2022.
Her admission came weeks after the shaman, Jeon Seong Bae, also known as Geon Jin, admitted to delivering luxury bags and jewellery to Ms Kim’s aide on behalf of the unification church.
Lawyers representing the former first lady released a statement on Wednesday admitting that she received bags as gifts, but denied they were in exchange for favours for the church.
“First lady Kim Keon Hee admits that she received bags as gifts from Jeon Seong Bae on two occasions,” the statement said.
“However, she makes it clear that there was no collusion with the Unification Church or request or exchange of any form in the process. She also denies outright receiving a Graff necklace.”
Mr Jeon was arrested in 2024 on suspicion that he received illegal political funds from politicians who ran for office in the 2018 election.
In South Korea, shamans are figures who claim to possess spiritual or supernatural influence and are believed to hold sway over political leaders. South Korea has a complex history with shamanism, which has drawn controversy because of its association with politics.
Mr Jeon was previously accused of flaunting his close ties with Mr Yoon and his wife, and reportedly served as an adviser at the first lady’s former company Covana Contents. He is believed to have played an active role in Mr Yoon’s presidential campaign that led to his narrow victory in 2022.
At his first formal hearing, he said he received Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace to be delivered to a former secretary of Ms Kim. It marked a U-turn from a previous testimony in which he denied delivering it to her aide and claimed he had lost the items.
The bags and the Gaff necklace are at the centre of the allegations against Ms Kim. The bags have been priced at 8m won (£4,249) and 12m (£6,373 ) won. The necklace has been valued at 62m won (£32,930).
Ms Kim’s lawyers said she initially refused to take the gifts but later accepted them.
“Though she should have been stricter as the spouse of a public official at the time, she is painfully aware of the mistake she made of failing to decline until the end due to her relationship with Jeon,” the lawyers said.
“The gifts were not used and were returned in full to Jeon Seon Bae in the past.”
South Korea has a long history of former leaders facing legal troubles after leaving office, but this marks the first time both a former president and his wife have been detained simultaneously. Ms Kim is the first former first lady in the country’s history to be arrested.
Her arrest came four months after her husband, the former president, was ousted for briefly declaring martial law in a move that stunned both the nation and the world.
The former first couple are being held at separate detention centres.
