People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun, indicted on charges of providing a Roger Vivier bag worth about 2.6 million won to Kim Keon-hee, denied the charges at the first trial. Kim's side argued that providing the bag was unrelated to official duties and does not fall under the special counsel's investigative mandate.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 22 (Presiding Judge Cho Hyeong-woo, Director General judge) on the 22nd opened the first hearing in the case of Kim and spouse Ms. Lee on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
As at the earlier pretrial preparation hearing, the couple's attorney said, "We deny all the charges against Kim." Regarding Lee, the attorney said, "It is true that a bag was provided through a third party, but it was unrelated to official duties and was a matter of courtesy."
When the court asked who the third party who delivered the bag was, Lee answered, "It was a long time ago, so I don't remember well."
Kim's side argued that on Mar. 17, 2023, the date the Kim Keon-hee special counsel identified as the bag's delivery, Kim and Lee could not have met. The attorney said, "The special counsel indicted on the grounds that on the day of the bag's delivery, Lee visited the National Assembly and Kim was also there, and thus the two met," adding, "But vehicle entry records and closed-circuit (CC) TV show their movements could not have overlapped."
There was also an argument that the bag obtained during the search and seizure is illegally collected evidence. Kim's side challenged its admissibility, saying the special counsel found the bag while searching beyond the scope stated in the warrant. They also argued that this case does not fall under the investigative scope of the Kim Keon-hee special counsel law.
In court, Kim directly said, "The special counsel law concerns the allegation that Ms. Kim received money or valuables," adding, "If Ms. Kim is not subject to punishment, then it does not fall under the scope of investigation."
The court organized the issues as whether the evidence was illegally collected and whether providing the bag was related to official duties. The court said, "The issues in this case are whether the evidence was illegally collected and whether providing the bag had a job-related connection in relation to the party leader election."
Appearing for trial that day, Kim told reporters, "A politically biased special counsel is forcibly pinning charges on me." On the suspicion that the bag was provided in return for a favor, Kim said, "That's absurd."
Kim and Lee were brought to trial on charges that, in return for mobilizing Unification Church believers to support Kim in the People Power Party leader election on Mar. 8, 2023, they provided Ms. Kim a Roger Vivier clutch bag on the 17th of the same month. The special counsel believes Kim's spouse delivered the bag and that the payment was withdrawn from Kim's National Assembly salary account.