[News Today] FIRST LADY QUESTIONED ON DIOR BAG

[LEAD]
For the first time among sitting First Ladies, Kim Keon-hee, underwent direct interrogation by prosecutors. The session, which spanned nearly 12 hours, was conducted privately, not at the usual prosecutor's office. It addressed allegations of stock manipulation linked to Deutsch Motors and accusations related to receiving a luxury handbag.

[REPORT]
Prosecutors have questioned First Lady Kim Keon-hee as a suspect for the first time.
The interrogation was held from 1:30 p.m. Saturday to 1:20 a.m. Sunday.

For security reasons, Kim was questioned not at the prosecutors' office, but at a government security building behind closed doors.

First, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's 2nd Anti-Corruption Investigation Division questioned her about her alleged involvement in the manipulation of Deutsch Motors stocks.
Then the Criminal Division questioned her about the luxury handbag bribery allegations.

The interrogation into the stock manipulation allegation took place about four years after a complaint was filed.
Prior to questioning, Kim submitted her written testimonies twice.

A complaint for the luxury bag allegation was received last December.
Kim was interrogated about it about two months after Prosecutor General Lee One-seok ordered a swift investigation of the case.

Lee One-seok / Prosecutor General (May 7)
Investigators will probe and decide swiftly and sternly according to evidence
and the rule of law.

After questioning, the first lady's attorney said she underwent questioning diligently and provided only the truth in her testimony.

The prosecutors will likely decide on the two cases after reviewing Kim's testimonies.

Kim is the first sitting president's spouse to be investigated.

Previously, the late President Chun Doo-hwan's wife, Lee Soon-ja, and the late President Roh Moo-hyun's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, were both privately questioned as witnesses at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, respectively, after their husbands' left office.