A special counsel team has begun questioning main opposition People Power Party(PPP) Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon regarding a luxury brand handbag that his wife gave former first lady Kim Keon-hee.

Rep. Kim appeared at the team’s office in Seoul’s Jongno District on Monday for the interrogation, during which the team will likely focus on whether he was aware that his wife sent the ex-first lady a Roger Vivier clutch bag after he was elected PPP leader in March 2023.

The five-term lawmaker stands accused of colluding with his wife to present the former first lady with the clutch, valued at two-point-six million won, or around one-thousand-800 U.S. dollars, in violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

The investigators obtained the bag and a letter written by Rep. Kim’s wife during a raid last month and are looking into whether the gift was a show of gratitude for the former first lady’s support of her husband’s candidacy.

The team believes the former first lady colluded with a shaman to recruit approximately two-thousand-400 Unification Church members to join the PPP in support of Rep. Kim’s leadership bid.

The PPP lawmaker admitted his wife sent the gift but denied her action constituted illegal solicitation.