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The Inquiry

What does a designer handbag say about South Korean politics?

The Inquiry

BBC

News Commentary, News

4.61.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In September 2022 a Christian pastor had a meeting with Kim Keon Hee, the first lady of South Korea, in her private residence. That meeting was recorded with a hidden camera and the film was released a year later.

What happens in the footage is not entirely clear … except that it appears to show two people - a man and a woman meeting, and one offering an expensive bagged gift to the other. This obscure video triggered a political storm so large that some say it even affected the outcome of the country’s parliamentary elections.

So what does a designer handbag say about South Korean politics?

Contributors: Raphael Rashid, freelance Journalist based in Seoul Sarah Son, Director of the Centre for South Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield Jong Eun Lee, Assistant Professor of Political Science at North Greenville University in South Carolina Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and South Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Image Credit: Philip Fong\Getty

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and maybe it's when I had a hand in.

0:04.0

I'm Tammy Walker and I produce podcasts for the BBC.

0:08.0

My role is to give new and diverse creators a voice with the opportunity to build a career.

0:12.0

That's the thing I love about podcasts.

0:14.4

You start with just a good idea.

0:16.2

But then you have the space to see where it goes.

0:18.4

And doing that at the BBC means we can really run with the best stories

0:21.8

while developing the most unique audio talent.

0:24.3

So if you like what you hear, why not check out the huge range of podcast we've got on BBC

0:29.1

Sounds?

0:30.1

Welcome to the inquiry with me, T Beckett from the BBC World Service.

0:36.0

One question, four expert witnesses and an answer.

0:49.2

It's a bumpy video lasting over an hour. What happens in the footage is tricky to decipher except that it appears to show two people, a man and a woman, meeting, and one

0:56.8

offering an expensive bagged gift to the other. On the face of it there is very little that is remarkable and yet this

1:06.4

obscure hour-long piece of bumpy secretly filmed video shot in South Korea's capital, Sol, triggered a political storm so large

1:17.0

that some say it even affected the outcome of the country's parliamentary elections.

1:23.2

This is because the central character in the video

1:26.7

is the wife of the president.

1:29.3

A woman who far from playing the traditional role

1:32.0

of living in her husband's shadow is a fashion conscious

1:35.6

51 year old with her own business interests.

1:39.9

This week on the inquiry we're asking what does a designer handbag say about South Korean

...

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