The prosecution has summoned Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young, who gave a luxury bag to First Lady Kim Keon-hee in 2022. 

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is questioning Choi as a suspect on Monday morning on charges of trespassing and violating anti-graft laws. 

Arriving at around 9:30 a.m. for questioning, Choi told reporters that he would fully cooperate with the investigation. 

Asked if there is any connection between the gift and President Yoon Suk Yeol's performance of his duties, the pastor said it is a matter for the prosecution to decide. 

Choi added that the central issue of the case is not the first lady receiving luxury bags or cosmetics, but the dualization and privatization of presidential power. 

The pastor gave the first lady a handbag worth three million won in September 2022 at her office in southern Seoul and filmed it with a hidden camera embedded in his watch. 

Voice of Seoul, an internet news outlet, released the video in November last year and the outlet’s head filed a complaint against President Yoon Suk Yeol and the first lady on alleged violations of the anti-graft law. 

The prosecution last week questioned the representatives of civic groups that filed a complaint against Choi.