The second special counsel launched a compulsory investigation on the 6th into the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office over prosecutors' alleged attempt to quash the "Dior bag investigation."
The special counsel said in a media notice that it was "conducting a search and seizure of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Affairs Bureau in connection with the attempt to quash the Dior bag investigation." However, the specific search targets and suspects were not confirmed.
The special counsel is looking into allegations that the prosecution leadership quashed the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's investigation into Mrs. Kim's receipt of a Dior bag.
Earlier, the online outlet the Voice of Seoul released in Nov. 2023 a "hidden camera" video showing Mrs. Kim receiving a Dior bag from Pastor Choi Jae-young and, in Dec. the same year, filed a complaint against former President Yoon and his spouse. However, in Oct. the following year, prosecutors decided not to indict, citing a lack of job-relatedness or quid pro quo.
Subsequently, during the third special counsel's probe launched afterward, it emerged that in May 2024 Mrs. Kim sent a message to then–Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, who was in office at the time, asking about forming a dedicated investigative team and the status of the probe, prompting suspicions of a "self-arranged quashing of the investigation."