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Straits Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
From Van Cleef to Vacheron, luxury gifts at center of probe into South Korea's former first lady
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Lavish items allegedly gifted to South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee include a diamond necklace, a high-end watch and designer shoes. SEOUL – The special counsel investigation into former first lady Kim Keon Hee has turned the spotlight on lavish items allegedly gifted to her during her husband's rise to the presidency and his time in office, including a diamond necklace, a high-end watch and designer shoes. Among the most notable luxury items is a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace, which Ms Kim wore while accompanying then-president Yoon Suk Yeol on their first overseas trip as the presidential couple to the Natosummit in June 2022. The Snowflake Pendant, crafted from 18K white gold and set with brilliant-cut diamonds, is currently listed on Van Cleef & Arpels' official website for approximately 83.5 million won (S$77,400), but at the time Ms Kim wore it, it reportedly sold for 60 million won. Yoon's office initially claimed that Ms Kim had borrowed the necklace from an acquaintance. However, in a written statement to prosecutors in May, Ms Kim said the necklace was a counterfeit. During questioning by the special counsel team on Aug 6, Ms Kim claimed she had purchased the fake in Hong Kong in 2010 as a gift for her mother and later borrowed it for the Nato trip. On Aug 12, the special counsel team revealed that it had obtained testimony from Seohee Construction confirming that the company had purchased the necklace and gifted it to Ms Kim. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Sengkang-Punggol LRT line back to full service: SBS Transit World US trade team will meet Chinese officials in two or three months, Bessent says Singapore From survivable to liveable: The making of a green city Asia DPM Gan kicks off India visit in Mumbai as Singapore firms ink investment agreements Multimedia World Photography Day: Celebrating the art of image-making Business CDL H1 profit rises 3.9% to S$91.2 million; declares 3 cent per share special dividend World Ukraine, sidelined in Trump-Putin summit, fights Russian grab for more territory Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story The investigators have also secured the necklace itself, they added. Also under scrutiny is a Vacheron Constantin watch. Investigators suspect that a Historic American 1921 model from the high-end brand, valued at approximately 54 million won at a Seoul boutique in September 2022, was allegedly delivered to Ms Kim by a businessperson surnamed Seo. He claimed to have purchased the watch at a discounted price of 35 million won through a 'VIP discount'. While Mr Seo claims he was simply running an errand for the former first lady, investigators suspect the luxury watch may have been given in exchange for a business favour. The main reason the special counsel team suspects a quid pro quo is the deal Mr Seo's company signed with the presidential office in September 2022, which was for a pilot program using robot dogs for security. It was found that the Presidential Security Service had allocated 800 million won to buy robot dogs — a plan that was scrapped after it was revealed by the local daily Hankyoreh. Raids on the homes of Ms Kim and her family have also uncovered other luxury items, including shoes from Chanel. The shoes are suspected of having been gifted by people related to the religious group Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. But questions remain over the shoe size, as the Chanel shoes allegedly intended for Ms Kim were size 39 (European), equivalent to about 245mm to 255mm. This is smaller than Ms Kim's reported shoe size of 260mm. Ms Kim was previously embroiled in controversy after accepting a luxury Christian Dior handbag , valued at 3 million won, from a Korean American pastor in 2022. Their meeting was secretly recorded on a hidden camera, and the footage was released by an online media outlet in November 2023. Prosecutors concluded there was no basis for a criminal charge in the case. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- The Guardian
Eurostar facing severe delays after huge cable theft in France
Passengers booked on Eurostar train services have been urged to cancel or delay their trips after a huge theft of cable in France, which threatened to disrupt the Nato summit in the Netherlands. Engineers are scrambling to repair the high speed line after 600m of cable was stolen or cut at Lille Europe station, the key interchange for trains between London and Paris and between Paris and Brussels and Amsterdam. On Wednesday Eurostar told customers that, due to the theft, its trains were 'likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations. Our stations are very busy, and we advise you to cancel or postpone your trip.' Police have launched an investigation, with forensic teams on the scene outside Lille that has disrupted dozens of high speed services. Dutch authorities are also investigating disruption in the Netherlands on Tuesday after a power outage on around 30 rail cables affected trains from Schiphol airport, about 50km away from the Nato summit in The Hague. The justice minister of the Netherlands, David van Weel, said the damage could have been an attempt to sabotage the two-day meeting of Nato leaders. 'The question is who is behind it. It can be an activist group, it can be a country,' he said. Eurostar advised all passengers on Wednesday to either change their journey or cancel it and request a free exchange or refund. French regional train networks TER Hauts de France said 15 cable installers and specialists had been mobilised to repair the line at Lille Europe. 'Delays and cancellations are expected until early afternoon,' the railway company said. The company said the theft occurred along the track bordering Mont-de-Terre station, between Lille and Lezennes, on signal cables laid in gutters on the ground. It said agents from the French national rail company, SNCF, were carrying out repairs by bringing in new cables. 'As is always the case in this type of operation, the task involves connecting, one by one, around 15 wires making up each cable. This is meticulous work,' it added. The delays follow disruption on Tuesday after two people died in separate incidents on the line between Lille and Paris, causing the line to be shut for most of the day. One Tuesday Alex Deane, a consultant who was a passenger on a train to Paris from St Pancras International in London scheduled for 3.30pm, said it had been delayed by two hours. After they left London, the train 'stopped in the middle of nowhere' and then returned to the British capital, he said on social media. In May, Spain's transport minister said the country's rail network suffered 'an act of serious sabotage' after vital signalling cable was stolen over a busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 people.
