Our correspondent in South Korea Mang Jiuchen Our special correspondent Han Wen
The incident of South Korea's "First Lady" Kim Jianxi accepting a brand-name bag has once again attracted great attention from the Korean media. According to Yonhap News Agency's report on the 13th, Choi Jae-young, a Korean-American pastor suspected of bribing Kim Jian-hee with a brand-name bag, appeared for questioning on the 13th. "Korea Daily" stated that this is the first time that the prosecutor's office has investigated suspects related to the incident of Kim Jianxi receiving brand-name bags. The director of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, who is responsible for investigating the case of Kim Gun-hee allegedly accepting designer bags and manipulating stock prices, was replaced on the same day, triggering a lot of speculation.
South Korean online media "Voice of Seoul" broke the news in November last year that Kim Jianxi received a Dior bag worth 3 million won (1 million won is about 5,300 yuan) from Cui Jae-yong on September 13, 2022, and released Live video as evidence. In December of the same year, the online media filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office against the president and his wife for violating South Korea’s anti-corruption law. South Korea's "Chosun Ilbo" stated that the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office was asked to form a task force on the 2nd to investigate the case of Kim Jianxi's package collection.
html On the morning of the 13th, Choi Jae-young appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office after being summoned for investigation on suspicion of violating South Korea’s Anti-Corruption Law and intruding into a home. The prosecutor confirmed on the same day the process and purpose of transferring the brand-name bag to Jin Jianxi. Choi Jae-yong said that the essence of the incident was not that (Kim Gun-hee) accepted designer bags and cosmetics, but that she attempted to "privatize the power of the president." South Korea's "Central Daily News" quoted Choi Jae-yong as saying: "On the day I received the designer bag from me, there were other people waiting in the corridor to meet Ms. Kim with gifts."Regarding the criticism of "fishing shots," Choi Jae-yong believes that, This move is by no means a crime. He did it to protect the people's right to know. In order to expose the true face of the president and his wife, he filmed it in a "disguised way".
"East Asia Ilbo" stated that South Korean prosecutors plan to investigate whether Choi Jae-yong's behavior of sending Kim Gun-hee a brand-name bag is related to the official behavior of public officials. If the case is found to be related to the official conduct of public officials, Choi Jae-yong may be punished. According to South Korea’s anti-corruption law, the Law on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Acceptance of Property, the spouse of a public official is not allowed to accept more than 1 million won in property or entertainment related to the official’s official behavior at a time or more than 3 million won in a year. However, the law does not provide for penalties against spouses.
South Korean prosecutors also plan to summon Baek Eun-jong, the representative of "Voice of Seoul" on the 20th. Baek Eun-jong said that during the investigation on the 20th, the undisclosed social media chat records of Choi Jae-yong and Kim Gun-hee will be submitted. The prosecutor will decide whether to summon Kim Jianxi after completing the investigation of "Voice of Seoul".
"Central Daily News" stated that based on the current disclosure, Jin Jianxi is likely to be dealt with "without suspicion." A source from South Korea's largest opposition Democratic Party, the Democratic Party, said: "If it was Ms. Kim Hye-kyung (the wife of the leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung), she would have been summoned for prosecution. If there was no summons for Ms. Kim Gun-hee, it would be better not to investigate."
Choi Jae-young On the day he was summoned, according to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice announced a large-scale transfer of high-level personnel in the prosecutor’s office. According to reports, the core of this personnel adjustment is a "big change" in the command team headed by the director of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. It has only been about 10 days since the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office established a task force to investigate the case of Kim Gun-hee's extortion.
According to reports, the new director of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Lee Chang-soo is considered to be a "pro-Yin (Seokyue) faction" in the prosecutorial system. Some analysts believe that the influence of the presidential office may increase in future investigations of Jin Jianxi. However, there are also voices saying that linking this personnel adjustment of the procuratorial organ with the investigation of Jin Jianxi is purely conjecture and that there will be no problems in the investigation.
When Yin Xiyue held a press conference on the second anniversary of his inauguration on the 9th, he apologized for the first time for his wife's alleged incident of accepting a brand-name bag. However, "Korea Economy" stated on the 13th that according to the poll results released by the Korean polling agency Realmeter on the same day, Yin Xiyue's policy approval rate is still hovering around 30%. Some analysts said that after Yin Xiyue lowered his posture and apologized, public opinion did not change positively. ▲
