Video of Daughter's Shopping at UK Coronation Using 'Appa Chance'... Papua Minister Resigns

The Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea, a South Pacific island nation and member of the Commonwealth, resigned after negative public opinion spread when he brought his daughter to the coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.

Savanna, daughter of Justin Tkachenko, Papua New Guinea's Minister of Foreign Affairs / TikTok capture, Yonhap News

On the 12th (local time), according to foreign media, Justin Tkachenko, Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister, announced he would "step down" after discussions with Prime Minister James Marape.

Recently, Papua New Guinea faced a wave of criticism over the 30-member national delegation that attended King Charles III's coronation held on the 6th at Westminster Abbey in London, UK.

The delegation received an allowance of 50,000 kina (about 19 million won) per person for travel expenses such as accommodation and airfare. The media criticized the government for excessive spending of taxpayers' money, and citizens expressed anger, saying the money would have been better spent on hospital treatment costs.

Public anger was especially focused on Tkachenko's daughter, Savanna, who accompanied the delegation. The trouble began when Savanna, a law student, shared a video on the social media platform TikTok showing her indulging in luxurious shopping before boarding a plane in Singapore.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Tkachenko further fueled the controversy by calling those criticizing his daughter "primitive animals." He later apologized for the remark but stated, "I hope the truth of this matter is clearly revealed and that misinformation and lies are corrected."

Prime Minister Marape expressed his desire to apologize for the shocking experience recently endured by Tkachenko's family, especially his daughter Savanna, saying, "No woman should be treated the way Savanna has recently been treated."

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