"Just like Choi Soon-sil" Pro-Roh Supporters Mock Yoon Seok-yeol's Mother-in-law's Luxury Bag

Yoon Seok-yeol's Mother-in-Law 'Trial'... Chaos in Front of the Court
Criticism as 'Second Choi Soon-sil' Arises Upon Seeing Luxury Bags

Choi, the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, is entering the courtroom on the 18th with the help of court officers.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Choi Mo (75), the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of forging bank balance certificates worth hundreds of billions of won, has sparked various comments regarding the luxury handbag worth tens of millions of won she was seen carrying as she entered the Uijeongbu District Court in Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 18th.

Among ruling party supporters, there are criticisms such as "Isn't that a bag bought with the tears of victims through fraud?" On the other hand, opposition party supporters point out, "How is this different from mocking Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) for wearing Prada shoes in the past?" Meanwhile, some pro-government supporters responded with "You should experience this once too."

This appears to be a criticism of reporters who behaved in a way that involved covering former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's residence. In the past, numerous articles about Cho's private life unrelated to his charges were published, causing controversy over the 'public's right to know.'

Similarly, Choi is receiving excessive criticism not for her charges but simply because of the attention on her 'luxury bag,' which among pro-government supporters is interpreted as a call for others to experience the same frustration that Cho's supporters once endured.

On December 22 last year, Choi Mo, the mother-in-law of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of forging a bank balance certificate during the land purchase process, is appearing in court at the Uijeongbu District Court in Ganeung-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi, the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon, appeared at the Uijeongbu District Court at around 4:50 p.m. and underwent a trial lasting about two hours. Previously, Choi was indicted without detention on charges of forging bank account balances.

When Choi arrived in a gray Mercedes and got out of the car, critics of former Prosecutor General Yoon shouted insults and yelled, while Yoon's supporters shouted "Stay strong" and "Fighting." Some targeted Choi, who bowed her head as she headed to the courtroom, with criticisms such as "Pretending to be struggling" and "Disgusting."

Meanwhile, as the bag Choi was carrying was reported to be a 'luxury item,' pro-government supporters continued to criticize, saying "She is living like that with other people's money" and "Isn't she the second Choi Soon-sil?"

Some argued, "Luxury bags are also part of the public's right to know." This is interpreted as a sarcastic criticism of the hardships former Minister Cho faced through some media coverage. In the past, some media reported that Cho's daughter drove a luxury foreign car, but it was later revealed that her car was a domestic Avante.

There were also mockeries that the luxury bag of former Prosecutor General Yoon's mother-in-law reminded people of Choi Seo-won, who appeared before the prosecution in 2016 amid the state corruption scandal. At that time, Choi attracted attention when she dropped shoes bearing the logo of the Italian luxury brand 'Prada' while entering the prosecution building through the press.

On October 31, 2016, Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who was urgently arrested on charges of 'state affairs manipulation.' Choi is being transferred to Seoul Detention Center wearing the luxury shoes (red circle) that were taken off when she appeared before the prosecution. The photo on the right shows the shoes that were removed during her appearance. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Back then, similar to the current criticism faced by former Prosecutor General Yoon's mother-in-law, Choi Seo-won was criticized with remarks like "She is living well buying luxury goods with the pain of victims." The shoes Choi wore were from the 2015 spring/summer collection, priced at 720,000 won in stores, and have since been discontinued.

Additionally, during a search of the Miseung Building in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a large number of imported luxury shoes presumed to belong to Choi and her daughter were found. Among them were luxury imported shoes from brands such as Ferragamo, Prada, Gucci, Tory Burch, and Moncler. In footage from the sample room, Choi was also seen carrying a bag believed to be Hermes worth over 10 million won.

Meanwhile, Choi, the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon, is accused of forging a bank balance certificate to make it appear as if she had deposited 34.7 billion won when purchasing land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do in 2013.

Choi admits to forging the bank balance certificate but claims, "I agreed because Mr. A said it would be used to obtain information from the Korea Asset Management Corporation." The next trial is scheduled for June 8 at the same court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.