Pastor at center of luxury bag scandal questioned over alleged illegal electioneering

A Korean American pastor at the center of a luxury bag scandal involving the first lady appeared before police on Monday for questioning over alleged defamation and illegal electioneering. Choi Jae-young presented himself at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, south of Seoul, to face questioning on suspicions of illegal election campaigning in February for an unsuccessful opposition party candidate in the April 10 parliamentary elections. He is also accused of defaming Rep. Lee Chul-gyu of the ruling People Power Party in March by claiming during a lecture that he received preferential treatment from first lady Kim Keon Hee in his nomination by the party. Currently, Choi is under investigation by police and prosecutors on separate charges related to allegations that Kim inappropriately received a 3 million-won (US$2,157) Dior handbag as a gift from him at her office in Seoul in September 2022. Choi and the online news media outlet Voice of Seoul exposed the Dior handbag case by publishi ng a video of the two's encounter, secretly filmed by the pastor. Charges against Kim in the luxury bag scandal include trespassing, secretly filming and publishing a video of his encounter with Kim and making illegal requests in exchange for the gift. As Choi appeared for Monday's questioning, he denied the defamation and illegal electioneering suspicions, accusing Lee of attempting to incriminate him by raising the allegations in defense of the first lady. "I will faithfully follow the questioning, but separately from that, allegations regarding the gifts Kim received should also be illuminated," Choi said. Source: Yonhap News Agency