Presidential Office Faces Deeper Deliberation Over Luxury Bag Allegations and Itaewon Special Law Response

Presidential Office Explains "Intentional Approach to First Lady"
Atmosphere Shifts as Response Tone Changes in First Official Statement
Emphasizes 'Principle' and Cautious Mode on Itaewon Special Act
Variables Emerge, Possibility of 'Media Interview' Instead of Press Conference

The Presidential Office's dilemma deepened over the allegations of First Lady Kim Geon-hee receiving luxury handbags and the passage of the Itaewon disaster special law. Amid speculation that President Yoon Suk-yeol might exercise his right to request reconsideration (veto) on the Itaewon special law, the Presidential Office, which had maintained a defensive stance regarding the First Lady's allegations, issued its first explanation and began gauging public opinion. Due to these variables, there are also forecasts that the President's New Year's press conference might be changed to an exclusive interview with a specific media outlet.

Last week, the Presidential Office stated regarding the First Lady's 'luxury bag receipt allegations' that "a Korean-American pastor deliberately approached the First Lady by leveraging his connection with her late father two years ago." In particular, they pointed out that "an unprecedented incident occurred where the First Lady was illegally filmed under a meticulous plan, including pre-purchasing items and recording the purchase process in advance," and explained that "gifts received by the presidential couple are not personally accepted by the President but are managed and stored by the state according to relevant regulations."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Although not an official position of the Presidential Office, this is the de facto first statement following the disclosure of the First Lady's luxury Dior bag receipt allegations through the YouTube channel 'Seoul's Voice' last November.

Behind this is a recent remark by Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party. Chairman Han had previously mentioned, "Isn't it a hidden camera conspiracy?" but on the 18th, he said, "There were parts that the public could be concerned about." It is also known that Chairman Han held a private meeting with Floor Leader Yoon Jae-ok to discuss response measures regarding the related allegations. Initially, Chairman Han had labeled the luxury bag controversy as a 'political conspiracy,' but as voices demanding an apology from the First Lady grew, especially among candidates running in the metropolitan area, he issued an additional message.

Due to the ongoing controversy, analyses suggest that the President's New Year's press conference is effectively off the table. Internally, there are concerns that if the press conference is held, public attention will focus on the First Lady's allegations, overshadowing government policy messages such as national agenda items. Instead, the possibility of an exclusive interview with a specific media outlet has been raised. This is interpreted as a decision to pursue a balanced response through an exclusive interview format rather than a press conference with sporadic questions.

Regarding the 'Itaewon Disaster Special Law' forwarded to the government, the stance remains to judge based on 'principles.' While the People Power Party has requested President Yoon to exercise his veto, the Presidential Office stated, "There are clear problems with the bill," but also said, "It is a matter to be judged according to law and principles, and we plan to comprehensively analyze the opinions of related ministries." Although there is a sense of problem that the opposition party pushed the bill through without bipartisan agreement, they intend to carefully consider the exercise of the veto itself.

Internally, the mood is strongly negative. The composition of the Special Investigation Committee (Special Committee) with four members recommended by the ruling party and seven by the opposition is seen as unfair, and the provision allowing the Special Committee to access records of cases that were not prosecuted or where investigations were stopped is considered a toxic clause. However, this differs from vetoes on policies such as the Grain Management Act, Nursing Act, and Yellow Envelope Act, which is seen as a variable. Since both ruling and opposition parties shared a common recognition of the Itaewon special law as a national disaster, exercising the veto could go against public sentiment. Public opinion was also unfavorable when the veto was exercised on the previous 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law.'

The accumulating 'vetoes' are also a considerable burden. Since taking office, President Yoon has exercised his veto power four times on a total of eight bills, including the 'Double Special Prosecutor Laws' (Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law and Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Law). Having repeatedly requested cooperation from the National Assembly, President Yoon risks being drawn into a 'veto political deadlock' led by the opposition ahead of the general elections.

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